Title: Lost For You
Author: Mel
E-mail: LizParkerEvans@aol.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by 20^th Century Fox, Jason Katims and the rest of TPTB, and Melinda Metz. Dont sue me please.

March 2013

New York City

Dr. Liz Parker carefully balanced an armful of midterm exams, two biology textbooks and one chemistry book as she walked up the wide stairs to her office. She could hardly see above the heavy load, but she could have walked the path to her office in the dark with her eyes closed. First she’d been a student at Columbia University and now as a professor she’d spent the better part of the last ten years in the hallways and buildings of the science wings and campus buildings. She turned the last corner to her office and smiled as she heard Shelby, her secretary, who saw her coming and quickly push her chair back to take some of the books from Liz.

"Liz, you could have called for some help! How did you even manage to get these books all this way up?" Shelby asked, following Liz as they entered her office.

"Just toss them on my desk, I’ll get to them tomorrow. It wasn’t that far, anyway I wanted to get them back here so I could leave early enough," Liz said, starting to pull her things together. Shelby nodded as she flipped through a few scraps of paper.

"Maria called to make sure you were coming to the park this afternoon, I assured her you were," she said, Liz nodded as she loaded papers and binders into her leather bag.

"Then, Isabel called, also to check and see if you were coming," Shelby said as she looked closely at Liz.

"Why is everyone so concerned about you arriving at the park this afternoon? You are one of the least forgetful people I know, and the last person they should worry about," she pointed out. Liz stopped her packing for a minute as she pulled her reading classes off her head and packed them away. She rolled her eyes and shrugged out of her white lab coat. She hung it by the door, having to stretch on her toes to reach the top hook. She was twenty eight years old and hadn’t grown an inch since high school, which made many think she was ten years younger than she actually was.

"Max has a baseball game this afternoon in the park and it’s the first one of the season. Isabel and Maria just like to check up on me and make sure I remember," Liz said. She checked her watch and quickly grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?" Liz asked, starting to walk down the hallway after shutting the door to her office.

"I’ll be here. Tell Max I said hello!" Shelby called. Liz nodded and waved as she practically skipped down the stairs and outside. As she crossed the campus, Liz returned the greetings and waves of her students and fellow faculty members. She knew that she practically blended in with the students more than the faculty with her petite frame, long brown air and casual dress. Her hair was even longer than when she’d been in high school. The lab coat she wore during class usually gave her teacher status away, but when she wasn’t wearing it, Liz dressed in jeans, casual skirts and comfortable sweaters and shirts. Some teachers wore tweed and cashmere, but she opted for sneakers instead of heels. Liz didn’t see the point in teaching for ten hours and being uncomfortable while doing it.

She breathed in the fresh air of the March afternoon. She loved New York City in the spring. It certainly was a stretch from Roswell in the spring. In Roswell it was hard to notice the changing seasons. Leaves hardly changed color, the desert remained the same rust brown and the cactus never dropped their needles, unlike the trees in Central Park that marked the changing seasons with darkening leaves and eventually blankets of snow. It had been over ten years since they’d left Roswell and headed to New York City. Liz had been accepted to both Harvard and Columbia University, but she ultimately chose Columbia. Liz turned down Broadway as she exited the campus, heading towards the subway stop at 116^th Street. Her strides were quick and measured, as she took the stairs below the city to the subway underground. She slid her metrocard and passed through the turnstile. Her timing was perfect as the A Train screeched to a halt and she got on, choosing to stand in the rush hour crowd of people riding the subway. Normally she might have read a book or graded papers, but instead Liz planted her feet firmly on the floor of the subway car and gripped the center pole, her eyes wandering outside into the black tunnel. As she adjusted her grip, the gold band on her left ring finger rang softly against the metal pole and she looked at her hand thoughtfully. She sighed and considered what had brought them all to New York City.

Right after high school they had come to New York for separate reasons. It was ten years later and Liz was grateful that despite their different reasons for coming, they’d all managed to stay close. She and Max lived on the west side of Manhattan, close to Central Park and the University. Maria owned a photography studio in Greenwich Village and lived just down the hall in the same apartment building as her and Max. Isabel and Alex had an apartment in Midtown, a bit of a walk or a very short subway trip away. Isabel practically ran Saks 5^th Avenue and Alex was busy as an executive for Virgin Records. Liz felt the subway slowing as it approached the 79^th Street stop and she braced her feet gently against the forces that tried to pull her forward. Shouldering her heavy bag, Liz wove through the other passengers and exited the subway car, heading for the exit signs. As she climbed the stairs up to the surface, she tried to suppress the sudden feeling of disorientation she usually felt when she reached the streets again. Her sense of direction always got twisted around underneath the city. Taking a quick look around, she headed east towards the park and The Great Lawn where everyone was meeting for the baseball game.

With a glance at his desk clock, Max smiled. It was after four and he had somewhere else to be that afternoon. Shutting off his computer, he grabbed his bag from next to his desk and packed the backpack he always took with him to work. As a professional writer for the New York Times he knew the backpack made him look more like a college student, but it served his purpose and served as a reminder of something he hadn’t quite been able to stop using since high school. He waved to some of the other writers and editors as he shut the door of his office and headed towards the elevator. He entered the elevator and took a spot in the back corner, knowing the car would fill up as it descended towards the street.

Max checked the bag at his feet, shifting his backpack to the other shoulder. He hadn’t forgotten his baseball mitt this time at least. He couldn’t wait to change out of the khaki slacks and dress shirt he was wearing. He grinned as he reached up to loosen the tie constricting his neck. He pulled at the knot and swallowed as the pressure released. He unbuttoned the top button of the shirt and suddenly felt much better. Next, he ran a hand through his hair, quickly glancing at his reflection in the metal surface of the elevator wall. He was a little taller, but he hadn’t changed much since his days back at Roswell. Before he could think about it too much, he pushed those thoughts away. It had been ten years since he’d last seen Roswell, but some of the reminders were too much. He would try to get a hold of Michael that night and see what he was doing.

He exited the New York Times building and walked towards the World Trade Center subway stop. The noises of New York City and the twelve million people on the island should have been deafening, but Max hardly noticed. He found the noises oddly comforting. It was easy to fade into the crowd when the crowd was so massive. As he boarded the C Train heading north up to Central Park Max stepped over to allow a young woman a larger space in the subway car. She smiled at him gratefully and when her eyes looked at him invitingly, he looked away. She was pretty and if he had been any other man, any other normal man, he probably would have smiled back. Not to mention her discreet glance at the wide gold ring on his left hand quickly made her lose any interest in him. He preferred it that way, things hadn’t changed since high school at all. Liz still held his heart and he was still an alien. At least being an alien was easier to hide in the biggest city in America.

The trip on the subway seemed to take longer than usual until it finally stopped at 81^st Street, just across from Central Park. He quickly exited and found the steps up to the street. The wind blew through his hair a little as he looked across the street at the green trees of Central Park. It was only early spring, but the trees were already covered with budding leaves, a welcome sight after the cold winter. After the crosswalk signaled he crossed the street and entered the park, heading towards the center where The Great Lawn and the baseball diamonds were. He knew the park well, it was a place he visited often. Catching sight of his fellow teammates, Max raised his arm in greeting. After stowing his backpack under a bench he went to change into more comfortable clothes. When he came out, dressed in t-shirt and sweats, he saw the game was about to begin. Taking first base, Max watched the game carefully, trying not to become distracted by the blue sky or the other people playing in the park.

Liz practically ran as she entered the park. She was late for the game and for once it hadn’t been her fault. At least the fire in the subway tunnel had not been her fault. Her shoulder was beginning to ache under the weight of her bag as she passed the Delacorte Theater and Belvedere Castle, finally arriving at The Great Lawn. She saw that the game was just starting and she grinned as she saw Maria and Isabel sitting on the bleachers. She waved at them and then grinned as she caught sight of Max on first base.

"Max!" she yelled. His head turned at the sound of her voice and his brown eyes lit up as he smiled, dimples showing. He waved back with his gloved hand.

"Hi Mom!"