Part 5

"Excuse me?" Amy asked, her eyes widening slightly at Liz’s words. Max looked gratefully at Liz, she always seemed to have the strength to do what no one else could. Maria cleared her throat and stepped forward to her mother.

"Mom, you heard Liz. And she wasn’t kidding. Max, Michael, Isabel and Tess were in the ’47 crash. Their pods hatched in 1989 and they’ve been living like regular kids since then. That time when Liz was almost shot? Well, she was actually shot. Max saved her life, and that’s how it all started. How we all found out. And how we all came to realize how important it is to keep their secret," Maria said.

Amy looked at each of the people in the room, studying their faces. Then she stood and walked over to Michael. Michael stood stiffly, not sure what Amy was about to do. She didn’t look mad, but his experience with DeLuca women told him that was no indication of her actual mood. She reached out and took Michael’s face in her hands, looking at him closely. He watched her eyes soften gently and he waited patiently for what she had to say.

"That must have been so hard for you," she whispered softly, loud enough so only Michael could really hear. Michael felt something in his heart shift and settle. She wasn’t angry, she wasn’t repulsed, she wasn’t calling the FBI. It had been the right thing to do, to tell her. When she finally stepped back, she fixed her gaze on Maria.

"Well, it certainly explains a lot," she commented. Everyone in the room let loose a collective breath. Amy returned to Jim’s side and took his hand.

"Have you been helping them all this time?" she asked in wonder.

"Just since last May. Before then I suspected but never knew for sure what was going on. Before then they were all on their own," Jim said. Amy nodded, not entirely sure how to respond.

"I don’t know what to say, except you can trust me. I appreciate the trust you’ve put in me and I won’t betray you. I don’t know everything, but I think I’ll figure it out as we go along. You know, I never really thought the rumors were true, it’s amazing to think that all this time there have been aliens in Roswell," Amy commented.

Relief spread through the room like a wave and suddenly everyone was talking. Amy was asking questions while someone would pop up with an answer and the voices mixed together. There was laughter at the funny stories, there was anger when Amy found out how the kids had been through so much, there was surprise at all the events that suddenly made so much sense.

Finally, Amy held up her hands.

"Ok, I think that’s enough alien information for me for one night! You’ve all dropped a bomb, so I’d say it’s my turn. Jim asked me to marry him and I said yes. We’re planning to get married in just two weeks," Amy said.

"Two weeks?!?!" Maria squeaked.

"Yes, two weeks. There’s no time like the present. We’re hoping to go house shopping tomorrow and the wedding plans need to start right away. First things first, we need our wedding party, and as odd as it might seem, we’d like your help in the wedding," Amy said. She stood up and approached Maria.

"Maria, you are my daughter, my best friend and a constant source of both joy and frustration. I’m starting to understand the frustration a little better now. I’d like you to be my maid of honor," Amy said. Maria grinned and smiled, hugging her mother. Amy walked over to Liz and took the girl’s hands in her own.

"Liz, I’ve watched you grow at the same time as Maria into a beautiful young woman. I would like you to be one of my bridesmaids," Amy said. Liz smiled widely and nodded, accepting the hug Amy gave her. Amy then turned to Isabel and Tess.

"I don’t know you girls as well, but I have a feeling I will in the future and I’d like to include you both as bridesmaids as well. Especially since you and I will be living together, Tess," Amy said. Isabel and Tess looked both surprised and pleased, nodding together. Jim cleared his throat and then looked at his son.

"Kyle, you are the best man. Max, Michael and Alex, groomsmen," Jim said quickly. Maria shook her head at Jim’s quick, cut to the chase attitude. The four boys nodded, though Michael’s voice quickly popped up.

"Does that mean I have to wear a tuxedo?"

Liz waved goodbye to Kyle and Tess as they left the Crashdown. They were the last people to leave. Except Max. He’d gone to the bathroom a few minutes before while everyone had begun to pack up and leave. It was close to midnight and Liz wanted to get to bed. She’d been recruited to go along on the house hunting trip, which was scheduled to begin bright and early. She picked up the last few remaining glasses and then sat up on the counter. She had to wait for Max to come out before she could lock the front doors for good.

She didn’t want him to go, and at the same time she did. As much as she tried to resign herself to what had happened, to what Future Max had told her she had to do, it didn’t stop her from wanting Max with her always. And even after all that had happened, he still seemed to respond to her. Even after everything he thought she’d done. And sometimes she wondered what might really happen if she did tell him. Tess seemed closer to the group than ever before. Their future already seemed changed.

Her thoughts swam and then she remembered Max’s voice, fourteen years older, weighted down with weariness, sorrow and guilt. She’d heard the guilt, that it was his fault, his life with Liz, that had led to the end of the world. She’d wanted to tell him that it wasn’t possible, that such a small decision in the eyes of the world could ever cause so much pain. But then she remembered a time when the world made total sense and she realized she couldn’t reassure Max of that. And so she’d listened, she’d done what he’d asked. And now she would always be alone, with her memories of things that would never happen.

"Liz?"

Liz looked up at the sound of Max’s voice, coming from the back of the café. He approached her slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. When he was about five feet away from her he stopped, something else that made her heart ache. It used to be that inches of space between them was too much. Now he kept the careful distance of a stranger. And it had been all her doing.

"You okay?" he asked softly, his eyes searching hers. She nodded mutely, afraid that if she spoke the tears would never stop falling. Max nodded, not pushing.

"Ok, I’m going to head out. You’ll be ok by yourself?" he asked. She nodded again and he moved away slowly. She didn’t watch him go, but she heard the door opening and closing, the jangling of the blinds against the window.

Liz took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, willing her eyes to dry. She wasn’t tired anymore, she felt like sleep would only allude her if she tried to lie down. She pushed off the counter and walked over to the jukebox, flipping through her choices. She paused on one and her finger poised, ready to push the coin into the slot. She took a deep breath and wondered how long she would continue to torture herself. In the long run, what good did it do? Nothing seemed to move forward, she felt stuck.

Unbidden, the thought came to her mind.

If moving forward meant moving away from Max, she didn’t ever want to move.

Slipping the coin into the slot, she made her selection and closed her eyes, waiting for the song to start. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear the door open again. Only Max’s hand on her arm alerted her to his presence. She jumped and turned around, her mouth falling open.

"Max! What are you doing here?" she asked. He looked at her worried.

"I don’t know, I just wanted to make sure you were alright," he said. He turned his head a little as Liz’s song selection started. The song started out low and then a steady beat throbbed.

He looked at Liz’s face, seeing the tears falling over her cheeks. He barely managed not to wipe them away. He wasn’t allowed to do that anymore. Suddenly, she moved closer to him and he tried not to move away in shock.

"Max," Liz blurted out.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Could we just pretend? Just for tonight, just for right now, that the last six months never happened? Please don’t ask me why, I just want to pretend. I just want you to dance with me," she whispered. Max looked down at her dark doe eyes and he nodded slowly, never able to deny her anything that she asked for.

She stepped closer and he met her halfway, falling against her easily. They fit together like they always had, naturally and completely. Her hand curled around his shoulder and her other hand fit against his palm, their fingers rubbing gently. He felt the spark he’d always felt when they touched, it was like an electric charge. His hand circled her waist, bringing her flush against him. She tucked her head against his and he felt his heart rate triple with the gentle brush of her breath against his neck.

Max turned slowly with Liz closing his eyes and moving in the space between the chairs and tables of the Crashdown. He didn’t know where Liz’s request had come from, but for the first time since he’d realized he loved Liz, the one thing he never questioned, he didn’t question what was happening. There was no Tess as his destiny, no Isabel and Michael looking on disapprovingly, no Kyle next to Liz in bed. All those thoughts flew away from his mind and he concentrated on how she felt, how she moved with him.

The song drifted off to silence and Max continued to move with Liz, his hand touching her back, the softness of her sweater. His hand moved up to briefly touch her long, silky hair, he’d missed the feeling of her hair, the smell of her so much. He could almost believe that the last six months hadn’t ever happened, it felt like nothing had changed.

Liz clung to Max, it felt like all that mattered was that he was holding her, dancing with her in a way she thought she’d never feel again. Even though she’d said she wanted to pretend, she realized that even in the back of her mind she wasn’t pretending.

Max was holding her.

Max was dancing with her.

Max was loving her.

And the future didn’t matter.