Part 18

Max paced around the lab room anxiously, waiting for Liz to show up for class. He didn’t know why, but for the past ten minutes he had a feeling inside of him, like a nervous twitch deep inside of him, screaming at him that something was wrong, something was going to happen, and of course his mind immediately turned to Liz. She was his everything, and if he let anything happen to her, he’d never forgive himself for it.

Things were just so crazy right now. There were so many dangers lurking on the horizon, so many questions left unanswered. Not to mention so many things happening in their personal lives.

It seemed as though they’d been running in circles like headless chickens ever since the summer ended, first with Congresswoman Whittaker’s sudden interest in them, and then the death of Nasedo, to the appearance of Brody with his new search for aliens in their midst. And then there was the whole fiasco on Isabel’s birthday, which indirectly led right to where they were today, with him and Liz being soulmates, and Tess being their enemy.

Now there were so many questions running through Max’s head, like what all of this meant? Was Tess the one who killed Nasedo? Was she in league with Congresswoman Whittaker? They were both skins after all. Did Tess suspect that they knew the truth about her? What would she do when she found out? Who would she target? Liz would be a good guess…so Max had to do everything he could to keep Liz safe.

He looked up at the clock, and sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. Liz was always early to the lab…it gave them a few moments alone together before they had to focus on school again, but class was going to start in two minutes, and she hadn’t shown yet…furthering the anxiety plaguing Max’s mind.

When the door flung open and Liz and Alyssa rushed in, Max was on them in an instant.

"Where were you? Is everything okay?"

Liz looked up at Max, her gaze flying between him and Alyssa. She really wanted to talk to him about what had just happened, and what they needed to do about it, but now was not the time. They couldn’t say anything in front of their new friend.

Liz threw a look at Alyssa, asking her not to say anything about their run in with Tess, and was surprised. She was expecting to see her friend surprised by Max’s obvious concern for her, but instead she found a funny smile on Alyssa’s face, as she watched Max, almost pleased by his overprotectiveness.

"Yeah, Max. Everything’s fine. We just got held up in the locker room. No big deal."

"Held up by what?" Max pushed, studying Liz’s face for anything he needed to know.

"By Tess." Alyssa butted in, saying the exact thing that Liz didn’t want Max to hear.

"Tess? What happened Liz? Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"Max!" Liz sighed in frustration. "I’m fine. She didn’t hurt me. We’ll talk about it later."

Max searched her eyes carefully. At the moment he wanted nothing more than to drag her outside, get into the jeep, and take her as far away from Tess as they could possibly get…but he knew he couldn’t. It would draw too much attention to them. Tess still didn’t know that they were onto her, and they needed to keep it that way as long as possible.

"Okay." Max finally agreed. "We’ll talk about it later."

"Thanks." Liz responded lovingly, leaning up to press a firm kiss on his lips. They made their way over to their lab table. Once Liz was sure that they were clear of any unwanted eavesdroppers, she leaned up and whispered in Max’s ear. "We should talk about it this evening with the whole group anyway. We need to figure out what we’re going to do about her."

"So she openly threatened you is what you’re saying?" Michael asked angrily.

"Yeah, pretty much. She told me to watch my back…and I fully intend to do just that." Liz explained cautiously to the group, as they lounged around in Michael’s apartment, eating pizza and discussing the current ‘Tess situation’.

"What I don’t get…" Maria started, speaking up to the group, "Is doesn’t this mess up her plan? Ever since that day in the cave, Tess has been pushing destiny on you guys, and focusing on trying to get you to change and do what she wants. She’s never done anything to make us suspect her…wouldn’t threatening Liz do just that?"

"I would have never thought that Tess would be openly hostile to me before now…but now knowing that she’s a skin? I dunno, she’s probably capable of anything." Liz confirmed for them.

"We’ve got to be especially careful right now." Max cautioned the group. "She may realize that her old plan failed, and try something new. It seems that most of her energy is focusing on Liz and me, but she could change her attention to any of you. Everyone keep a close eye on one another. Make sure that you’re never alone with Tess. We have to watch for her next move. Remember, that she’s extremely dangerous. She’s not the girl we always assumed her to be. She could be just waiting to kill any one of us."

"Why don’t we just kill her first?" Isabel spoke up carefully.

"Because we’re not killers. Every time someone has lost their life against us it’s been from their own actions. We’re not going to go out and just hunt her down. That’s not like us. We’re better than that. No one do anything to her unless she acts first."

The whole group nodded in agreement, and broke to go their separate ways. Max helped Liz into the jeep, and silently started the motor, a determined grim expression on his face as they headed back home.

"Max?" Liz asked softly. "You’re keeping something inside…what is it?"

Max looked over to the love of his life, and his expression softened, as he lost himself in the love he saw pouring openly from her eyes. How could he ignore her?

"It’s just…I’m really scared for you, Liz. She’s already approached you once…she’s more than likely to do it again. I just don’t want to see anything happen to you."

"Nothing is going to happen to me, Max." She told him matter of factly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because…I know you. You’re not going to let me out of my sight if you can help it. You’re going to protect me at all costs. I trust that you’re not going to let anything happen to me, Max, because I love you and you love me, and that’s all that matters."

"You do know me." He chuckled softly. "Don’t worry, Liz. I won’t let anything happen to you."

"I know." She smiled brightly at him.