Part 15

"Hey, Chica, what are you doing out here?"

Liz turned with a smile on her face for Maria, who joined her outside the gym, in front of the school. Liz took in Maria’s face, lit up with a happy smile, and she felt a surge of contentment for her brother and her best friend. They really were perfect for each other.

"I’m just waiting for Max. He forgot his coat inside. We were just going for a walk and then Max was going to take me home," Liz said, loving how the easy description rolled off her tongue. It had been so natural to slip into the roll of Max’s girlfriend. Like it was a place she’d always been meant to be.

"Michael’s meeting me out here too. We’re going to the Crashdown for some food, so I guess we’ll see you there later?" Maria suggested. Liz nodded as Maria turned away to go back inside, like she couldn’t wait for Michael to come out front. Maria turned just as she got to the door, an impish smile on her face.

"You know, I never would have thought this would all happen," she commented. Liz fixed her with a perplexed gaze. Maria waved her hand in the air.

"All this—Max, Isabel, Michael. I just never would have expected it. Even living in Roswell I never would have thought that you and I and Alex would be dating aliens," Maria finished. Liz smiled at her friend, realizing that shared a special bond, the three of them and the six of them.

Without another word Maria left, entering the gym just as Max came out. Liz’s face lit up at the sight of him, shrugging his jacket on over his broad shoulders, his tie hanging loosely around his neck and the top two buttons of his shirt undone, revealing smooth skin and his strong neck. Liz felt herself drawn to him, her hands gliding over his chest to pull on his lapels and bring him closer.

"Hey, missed you," she whispered into his ear. Max couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over his face.

"Liz, I was only gone three minutes," he replied. Liz gave him a pouting look, her lower lip jutting out.

"Doesn’t matter, you were gone," she replied defiantly. Max smiled and leaned down, drawn to her soft lips for a gentle kiss. His fingers found the bare skin at her back and skimmed over her delicate shoulder blades, coming to rest on her arms. When they finally broke apart Liz leaned her head against his shoulder and his arm went around her easily, naturally.

They began to walk away from the school, towards the Crashdown and home. Liz had told Max she just wanted to walk with him and he’d readily agreed, deciding to pick up the car after he dropped her off. Anything to extend their time together.

The town was quiet as they walked up Citrus Street, their voices punctuating the cool night air.

"So, what’s it like here during the winter?" Max asked, noting the coolness in the air as a signal of the early end of fall.

"It gets a little cold, but not like what you’re used to in Colorado," Liz said.

"What about snow?" Max asked eagerly. Liz shook her head.

"Only if it’s really, really cold. It hasn’t snowed for years, not since Maria, Michael, Alex and I were ten. We didn’t even have enough snow for a snowman or snow angels, but we sure tried," Liz said, thinking back with fond memories. Max pictured Liz in the snow, laughing as she tried to make a snow angel, her dark hair a striking contrast against the white snow.

"I’m going to miss that about Aspen," Max said sorrowfully. "I love the snow."

Liz nodded and watched Max as he talked about his other home. She could tell he missed being there, in the place he’d grown up. She knew Roswell and its alien-themed memorabilia still made him a little uncomfortable.

She hardly noticed as they passed the Crashdown and turned down the alley, heading towards the park. It was as if they’d both decided that they didn’t want to part for the evening just yet.

Liz had been silent as Max talked, loving to hear his voice ebb and flow, full of emotion as he talked about his life, himself, his family. It was like watching the layers peel away. They were still getting to know all the details about one another and she loved hearing every single one.

They finally reached the park and crossed over the path to the grass. Liz felt her heels beginning to sink into the soft earth and she leaned down, slipping them off. She wiggled her toes in the grass, feeling it tickle and cool her feet. With a laugh she spun away from Max, her arms outstretched wide as she closed her eyes and turned her face towards the moonlight, unable to pinpoint exactly what was making her so carefree.

Nothing felt quite like being with Max.

Max felt his breath leave him as he watched Liz. The way she carelessly left her shoes behind, how her hair caught the moonlight and how the silver light reflected off her skin and shone in her pale blue dress. She was so beautiful, and she was all his. He felt like he needed to pinch himself, like he might wake up any second and realize that everything was all a dream. He’d wake up and they would be back in Colorado and everything that had become his life would vanish. But looking at Liz, hearing her call his name, her hands, her lips on him proved otherwise. She was real, she was pure, and she was all his.

"Max! Max, come here!" Liz beckoned from the middle of the field where she’d danced off to. Max grinned and complied, picking up her shoes as he walked towards her.

Liz’s own breath caught in her chest at the sight of Max, looking slightly disheveled in his tuxedo, her silver shoes slung through his fingers by the delicate ankle straps. Sometimes she wondered that her heart didn’t burst just at the mere sight of him, so good, so strong and so beautiful in front of her.

He dropped her shoes as he got closer and walked into her arms. His hands went to her waist and hers to his upper arms, rubbing gently. Max suddenly wished that he didn’t have the layers of tuxedo shirt and jacket between them. The feeling of her fingers was a welcoming burn even through the fabric.

He could tell her mood had shifted a little from the carefree, dancing girl of a minute ago. And he waited patiently, knowing she would tell him when she was ready.

"You miss Colorado, your other home, don’t you?" she asked. Max thought a moment and then nodded.

"I suppose I miss parts of it. The things I would really miss are right here. I would miss people, not places, not things if they weren’t here. Mom, Dad, Isabel if I’d had to be away from them. And even more now," Max replied. Liz nodded and bit her lip, hesitating, before she looked at him, her round brown eyes wide in the dark.

"What about your real home? What would you do if you could go there? If you could go home?" Liz asked, her thoughts going to a place in the sky, farther away than she could ever imagine, as both a scientist and a human. Max looked stunned for a minute, wondering how he could answer the question.

The thought conflicted him. A part of him had feared his alien side as long as he could remember. A part of him had never wanted to know. But now, that part of him was being drowned out by a natural curiosity about what he’d come to see wasn’t scary like he’d thought.

"I’m not asking to make you feel guilty or obligated, but I just wanted to know. Because you, Michael and Isabel are such a part of our lives and I don’t know what I’d do if you were to suddenly leave. I just wanted to know," Liz said truthfully. Max took her face in his hands and gazed at her, amazed at how brave she was.

"Liz, there’s no way I could ever go anywhere without you. I don’t have it in me, and I don’t want to. Wherever Michael, Isabel and I go; you, Maria and Alex go. We’re stronger together. I guess, given the opportunity I would like to know about where we come from, but I’m not ready to leave this place, not anytime soon. This is my home, you are my home, Liz," he said to reassure her. Liz smiled and kissed him, her lips gentle, kind and loving as she poured her love, her gratitude into him.

Max felt their connection flare up again, the first time since she’d come to his bedroom to try and convince him that she didn’t think he was a freak. Feeling the warmth of her beckoning him he readily moved closer, embracing her mind as rushes of images flashed past him. He could feel her mind in his, he didn’t know where she ended and he began and he welcomed the presence, only stepping back reluctantly.

Liz’s eyes gazed at him in wonder, her fingers touching his face as if to reassure herself that he was in fact real. He found his fingers doing the same, touching every inch of her that he could as he tried to form words from his thoughts.

"Wow, Liz, I saw what you saw, when you look at me. I just never thought anyone could feel that way about me," Max said. Liz kissed his fingertips as they passed over her mouth.

"Me either. I saw how you see me, how I look in your eyes," she replied. Max watched her carefully, seeing that she wasn’t upset or unhappy, more awestruck.

"What did you see?" he asked. Liz blushed a little.

"That I’m beautiful," she replied quietly. Max grinned, shaking his head.

"Because you are! Liz, how could you ever doubt it?" he asked incredulously. Liz laughed a little, falling against Max’s chest and enjoying how his arms automatically went around her.

"Max, not everyone sees me as beautiful, but I’m glad you do," she murmured. Max nodded vigorously; not needing to be convinced that the girl he loved was the most beautiful person in the world.

Liz’s nose nuzzled against his neck and Max rubbed her shoulders, surrounding himself with the smells of her skin and hair, the sound of her breathing and the feel of her against his skin.

"Max?"

"Hmm?"

"I never got to say thank you for my song," Liz murmured. Max smiled and leaned back, pushing a stray strand of hair back from her face.

"That’s not the end of the surprises for you tonight, Liz Parker," Max replied with a playful grin. Liz looked at him curiously as he pointed upward with one finger. She followed the path, seeing the moon and then glittering flakes falling down towards them. She gasped as the cool flakes hit her skin, catching in her eyelashes and melting on her lips.

"Snow! Max, you made it snow!" she exclaimed. Max grinned and shrugged.

"It’s not enough for snow angels . . ." he trailed off. With a laugh, Liz spun around, enjoying the cool feeling of the light snow falling around them. She caught Max in her hands and turned him around, then pulled his arms around her waist, his chest warm on her back as the snow slowly stopped falling, resting around them on the ground and quickly melting to nothing in the night air.

"Liz, did I tell you that you look like an angel tonight? I can’t even explain how it makes me feel when I look at you. It’s like I suddenly realize that everything in the world is ok, as long as I’m with you," he said. Liz turned in his arms and caught his face in her hands.

"Don’t you see Max? It’s the same for me. I love you, Max," Liz replied honestly. Max didn’t seem startled by her words as he touched her cheek briefly.

"I know. I—"

"Well, isn’t that just sweet?"

Max felt Liz freeze in his arms at the harsh voice coming from the shrouding darkness of the nearby trees. They were out in the open, bathed in moonlight and couldn’t quite see into the shadows. Max couldn’t recognize the voice, but he heard the coldness, the anger in the words.

"Liz, who is that?" he asked urgently. Liz’s fingers dug into his arms and she looked at him, her eyes scared. She suddenly worried what he might have seen, while she and Max thought they’d been alone.

"It’s Kyle," she whispered. Max squinted, trying to make out the person in the shadows.

"How could it be? I thought he was—"

"Locked in a Looney bin? Pulled out of society? Eliminated as a danger to Liz Parker and the rest of West Roswell High? Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not that hard to get away from those places," Kyle said, finally stepping into the light.

The sight of Kyle made Liz shrink back against Max, a move that seemed to anger Kyle more.

"Liz, step away from him. You aren’t his, you’re mine," he said evenly. Liz shook her head vehemently. Angered, Kyle suddenly extended his arm, revealing a gun in his hand, now pointed straight at Max’s head.

"It’s not very hard to get a gun when you’re Dad’s the sheriff," Kyle observed. With a cry, Liz looked at Max, her eyes desperate.

"NO! No, Kyle, please, I’ll do anything you want, just put the gun down," Liz pleaded. Max caught her arm, his eyes wild.

"Liz! What are you doing? I said I would protect you and I will. You are not going with him!" he exclaimed. Liz’s face was strong as she shook her head, her voice low as she spoke, so Kyle couldn’t hear.

"Max, I can’t stand to see anything happen to you again. And Michael isn’t here to save you. I’ll see what he wants, try to calm him down. Get Michael and the others," Liz said. Max looked at her in amazement.

"Liz, if you think I’m just going to leave you with him and leave, you’re crazier than he is! He’s got a gun, I saw what he did to you with his own hands, I will not allow him near you when he has a gun," Max said urgently.

"Look, I’m getting tired of waiting. Liz, are you coming with me or do I need to shoot him?" Kyle asked impatiently. Liz shook her head at the last statement and took a step away from Max and towards Kyle. Max caught her hand in his, shaking his head as she backed away from him.

Liz’s eyes pleaded with him to stop, to let her go, that she’d be fine as long as he was safe.

Max felt like his heart was tearing apart. He’d told her he would protect her, that Kyle would never touch her again, and there he was; ready to take her away, that smug look on his face. As if he’d won.

"Like hell," Max muttered, making a decision as he quickly stepped forward, pushing Liz out of the way, far from him and Kyle. He heard Liz’s cry as he tried to overpower Kyle, he saw the light reflect off the black metal of the gun. He saw the barrel pointing straight at him; he heard the click of the hammer being pulled back and then the impossibly loud bang of the gun going off.

And then in a flash of pain and a burst of light Max’s world went irrevocably black.

TBC . . .