Part 4

Liz was so frustrated she wanted to scream, as she watched the hands of the clock inch their way around it’s face. Time was passing entirely too slowly, and it was diving her nuts!

Liz had always loved her job…in the years that she’d been teaching, she had never been so desperate for a day to end in her life.

It had been so hard for her to delay her reunion with Max…but she didn’t have a choice. Liz Parker had always been a responsible individual, and as much as she desperately wanted to throw all reason out the door, and spend the whole day wrapped up in Max’s arms…she had a full day of classes on her agenda, the first day of classes, and she couldn’t cancel them…no matter how much she wanted to.

So, reluctantly Liz had forced herself out of Max’s embrace, asking him to met her at the end of the day, and going through the torturously slow motions of the rest of her day.

When the clock finally hit five, signaling the end of her final lab class of the day, it was all Liz could do to keep herself from exploding with happiness.

Quickly, Liz answered the lingering student’s questions, and signed a few add cards until finally they were gone. She shoved her books into her briefcase, closed it, and practically ran out of the classroom.

The moment she stepped into the hallway, strong arms grasped her from behind, pulling her to a halt. Liz smiled softly to herself, as she was pulled back against a hard body, and warm arms wrapped her into a familiar embrace…one that although she hadn’t felt for years, still felt as natural to her as the last time he had greeted her the exact same way.

Lips pressed down on the side of her neck, and Liz tilted her head, allowing him more access, as he smothered her with love, making sure not to miss a single spot.

Liz closed her eyes and moaned softly, as she lost herself in the sensations surging through her body.

The world melted away…and for a moment it seemed like she was seventeen again…in the hallway of West Roswell High School, where Max had just met her after Lit class, and was about to take her home, with a quick detour on the way for some down time alone together.

For a little while, Liz could forget that they had just reunited after being apart for ten years…it all just came back to her so naturally, it seemed like they were never apart at all.

Liz twisted around in Max’s embrace, sliding her arms up around his neck. She pulled his lips down to greet him with a soft kiss…

Their eyes met, and Liz froze, moments before their lips connected…hypnotized by what she saw lurking in the darkness of Max’s pools of emotion.

His eyes…they had changed. Only slightly…they seemed older, more mature, and there was a darkness to them, a slightly haunted look. The Max Evans standing before her had seen horrors like Liz knew she could never imagine.

His face had changed too…there were new scars, and weary lines that Liz was unfamiliar with. She traced the new lines lightly with her fingers, studying him, and reacquainting herself with the man who had gotten away so many years earlier.

One thing stood out clearly to Liz as she gently ran her fingers over his face…the complete, open love that swam openly in his eyes…and Liz knew hers returned it.

They weren’t seventeen anymore…they weren’t in Roswell, but regardless of everything that had changed over the past ten years, one thing had remained unscathed: their deep, unending love for each other.

Liz leaned up and closed the final distance between their lips, connecting them in their own unique way: body, mind, and soul. Reverently, Max caressed her lips with his own, while pouring all of the love he felt in his heart into their connection, desperate to make her see that in ten years, his feelings for her had not diminished in the slightest, rather grown to an intensity that he previously couldn’t even begin to imagine. Liz returned his love with a powerful surge of her own, desperate to make him see that she had waited for him, that she knew without a doubt that there would never be anyone for her besides him.

Their first kiss in a decade was more than just a kiss to the two reunited lovers…it was a promise, an oath to stand by each other’s side for all time, to wait for each other for an eternity if necessary.

It was as if in an instant, they pledged themselves to each other for the rest of their lives, in a humble act of complete and utter devotion.

Reluctantly they pulled back from their kiss, still clinging to each other, needing as much contact as possible to make up for all of the lost time.

"We have so much catching up to do." Liz marveled, as she languidly stroked the back of Max’s neck. "There’s so much I’ve wanted to share with you…I don’t think we’ll ever be able to catch up completely."

"We will." Max promised. "We have the rest of our lives to make up for lost time."

Liz looked up sharply at Max’s words, her eyes shining brightly with emotion. "Does that mean?" Liz breathed in amazement.

"I’m back for good, Liz. I’m not going anywhere…never again…not without you."

At his words, Liz clutched herself tightly to Max’s body, as the tears fell openly from her eyes. Tremors racked through her body, as she sobbed openly against Max’s chest.

"I’d always dreamed that you’d come back for good…but…I always thought it was too much to hope for…that something would take you away again and I’d get you back only to loose you again." She cried, as Max desperately tried to soothe the storm that surged through her body.

"Shhh…you don’t need to worry about that anymore. I’m here for good. And I’m not leaving you, not ever again. I swear to you, Liz. I will be by your side forever. I can’t leave you again…it was too hard the first time."

"I believe you." Liz whispered as she regained control of her emotions.

"I’m so sorry." Max sighed. "I’m so sorry I had to leave you at all…I never wanted it to be this way with us, Liz. I wanted us to go to college together, to make our lives together. I never wanted to leave your side. The past 10 years…every single thing that I did, I held you close to my heart as I did it. Every battle I won, I survived with you on my mind. I had to endure everything, to get back to you. All that mattered to me was you, Liz. And it was all worth it…because we’re here, together, now."

"Thank you…for coming back to me, Max."

"Thank you, for waiting for me."

Liz smiled lovingly up into his eyes. "Come on…lets go to my apartment. I’ll make us some dinner, and you can tell me everything you’ve been through."

Max flinched slightly at her words. "Do you really want to know everything?"

"Yes, Max." Liz insisted. "I need to know what you’ve gone through…what we’ve suffered for. Please don’t keep anything from me."

Max nodded. "I will…it’ll be hard, but I’ll tell you everything I can."

"Good…and I have something to give you too…something I’ve kept for you all these years."