~ chapter 3~

"Michael?" Max inquired as soon as Michael flipped the phone off and turned back around. "What's going on with you?"

Michael shrugged his shoulders and shoved the phone back in his pocket. "What do you mean, Maxwell?"

Max leaned back and eyed Michael carefully. "I mean…for the past three months you've been…" Max looked away trying to find the right word. "…distracted. You're constantly flying back and forth between here and New York. You disappear at the oddest times…" Suddenly he looked back up at Michael and jumped up from his seat to stand face to face with Michael.

Eyes flashing with sudden worry, Max's voice took on an edge of warning. "Michael. This had better not have anything to do with…" Max glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear, then lowered his voice as an extra precaution. "…Nasedo."

Michael shook his head and rolled his eyes "I know I’m the reckless one of the group, Max, but I don't have a death wish." Seeing Max visibly relax in front of him, Michael added a thought he hoped would make Maria's plan a little easier to pull off by gearing Max's thoughts to what he'd been missing for so long. "Besides…you gave up way too much. You gave up Liz, the love of your life…your own happiness…your future with her. And you did it just to keep all of us safe. I'm not going to jeopardize that for anything."

Seeing Max's eyes cloud with pain at the mention of Liz, Michael patted him on the shoulder and smiled slightly to lighten the mood. "Believe me, Maximillian, Nasedo's the last person on my mind right now."

As Michael walked past him and slid onto the sofa, Max turned to scrutinize his friend. His eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms in front of him. Michael was acting way too casual for something to *not* be going on. "So, then who is?"

Knowing how surprised Max would be if he knew the answer to that question, a small smile danced on Michael's lips as he stared straight ahead of him.

Max's eyebrow raised. "Michael?"

Michael's brown eyes turned to Max as he quickly dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand. He'd know everything in a few minutes anyway. "Look, I've just had a lot going on with the art galleries here in town that's all. It's nothing, man." Standing up he held his arms out and glanced down at his clothes. "You know, Iz was right. I really do need to get a clearer vision of the more common, boring tuxedo-wearing practices. Think you might be able to help me out?"

Still not completely convinced Michael wasn't up to something, but knowing he wasn't getting any more information out of him than he already had, Max shook his head with a chuckle. "Yeah. I might be able to help."

"Good." Michael stated with a nod. "Tell you what. Why don't you head to the dressing room and start picking things out. I'll be there in a minute. I need to make a few phone calls."

"Ok." Max's shrug told Michael that Max's suspicions had once more been quelled. "Where is it?"

With a straight face, Michael lied. "Take the elevator to the second floor, turn left and then right. There's a door at the end of the hall. I'll be there in a few."

"Alright." Max agreed simply, completely unaware of what waited for him behind that door.

Michael waited till Max was out of earshot then quickly dialed a number on his phone. When he heard her voice, he grinned. "Get ready, babe. He's on his way…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liz Parker stood staring at herself in the mirror. A shaky breath escaped her lungs as her hands slowly ran down the lightly beaded bodice of the latest beautiful white gown she'd decided to try on. This particular one had a rounded neckline with scalloped lace and simple cap sleeves. The skirt swished in just the right way when she moved. It reminded her very much of a bell.

Max would have liked this dress. The unexpected thought sprung to Liz's mind before she had a chance to squelch it. Once it was there, the thought decided to take up residence for a while in the form of memories past. Memories Liz thought she'd buried long ago…

"Mrs. Evans. Mrs. Maxwell Evans. Mrs. Elizabeth Anne Evans."

"Max? What are you doing?" Liz asked with a chuckle as she came up behind him and wrapped one arm around his neck. Running her other hand down his back then back up to play with the hair at the base of his neck, she leaned over his shoulder and gazed down at the paper he was reading from.

Max glanced up at her then back at the paper in his hands raising it so she could see. Scribbled all over the paper were different combinations of his and her name. "I'm testing out your name. You know, trying to figure out which one will sound better."

Liz's eyebrows furrowed in mock confusion as she began to tease him. "But…those aren't my names."

A small smile touched Max's lips and he looked down at the table in front of him, a shy embarrassment suddenly taking over his emotions. With a whisper, Max asked the question he'd always dreamed of asking but never really thought he could. "Would you…would you ever want them to be?"

Glancing up at her quickly he saw the smile slide from her lips when her eyes met his and he felt as if his heart had just broken in two. Swallowing hard, Max took a breath and waited for the inevitable 'no'. What had he been thinking? Of course she wouldn't want to marry him. He was an alien for goodness sake! There was so much they still didn't know. So many dangers they still hadn't discovered yet. They didn't even know if they were physically compatible yet.

And they were still so young. Way too young to be making plans for forever. Anyway, she'd be crazy to want to spend the rest of her life in such an abnormal relationship with the most abnormal person in the world. Liz was such a beautiful, loving girl. She deserved much more than the chaos he could bring her.

Instead of answering with words, Liz moved silently in front of him and slipped into his lap wrapping her arms around his neck. Had he been looking in her eyes he would have known he had nothing to fear from her answer. An adoring smile touched Liz's lips before she reached up and touched the side of his face with a gentle caress. "Max. Look at me."

When Max finally raised his eyes to meet hers, the sight that greeted him took his breath away. Her eyes sparkled with tears and the smile that made her face glow told him all he needed to know. Still, he wanted to hear her say it. And apparently she wanted to.

Liz took a deep breath and let it out slowly as one hand unconsciously moved to trace the contours of his handsome face, her eyes roaming every inch as if she were trying to memorize every feature. When she finally spoke, her answer was so full of love Max thought he'd died and gone to heaven…or this was a cruel joke and he was only dreaming. Her next words confirmed that Heaven really did exist.

"I love you, Max Evans. So much that I ache for you when you're not with me. I want to be with you always because when I'm not, I'm only half of who I was meant to be. Loving you and laughing with you…even crying with you. Whatever journey you take…wherever it leads you…whether to the stars or the house next door, I want to go there too. So, if you're asking me which name I prefer to be called once we're married…" Liz closed her eyes briefly and smiled before looking back into his eyes again. "…it doesn't matter. I'll take any one of them that means you're mine and I'm yours...forever..."

Liz looked back at herself in the mirror and tilted her head to the side as a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and made a path down her cheek. Mrs. Liz Evans. It had been the name they decided would best describe her in their newly formed dreams. Would the name even fit her any more? Probably not. Especially since the most important half of the name had been missing from her life for so long.

Her eyes widened suddenly as the amber stone hanging from the long chain around her delicate neck began to dance from the light up above then glow with an intensity she hadn't seen in years. Or rather…hadn't allowed herself to see in years. Her breath caught instantly when her eyes focused on the gold ring the stone was set in. It wasn't that she'd forgotten she was wearing it. Or the many times it had glowed in the past. Or what it meant when it did glow. No. She could never forget that.

It was just that she had worn it for so long, it had become a part of her. Like the boy who had given it to her. The boy who was now a man living and breathing somewhere without her. Still. It hadn't glowed with such heat since…a lifetime ago. She reached up and fingered the ring gingerly, her mind taking a trip into the past when things were more complicated...when things were exactly the way she wanted them to be…

"Max, come on. Give me a hint as to what the surprise is." Liz giggled and tried to pull his hands from behind his back but to no avail.

Max shook his head and backed away from Liz, his face growing suddenly serious. "You know I *could* tell you…but then I'd have to kill you."

Tilting her head to the side, Liz smiled cockily before shrugging. "Go ahead. Kill me. I'm not afraid."

"You aren't." Max stated though his eyebrows rose to take the place of the question mark his voice should have held.

Liz shook her head as she took a slight step forward. "Nope. Not in the least."

"Why not? I mean, there are a lot of people that would tell you to never trust an alien. After all, we are known for using humans for sexual experimentation." Max fought the urge to grin at her as he watched her inch her way towards him. He knew his Liz so well. She was up to something. And it was going to be fun to watch her try to get it.

Standing face to face with Max, Liz raised her dark eyes to meet his velvety brown ones. She paused a moment to make that emotional connection the two of them had always shared, before slowly running her hands up his chest and smiling at the reaction her touch had elicited from him. Cocking an eyebrow at the sudden desire she saw dancing in his eyes, she ran her hands back down his chest and wrapped her arms languidly around his waist. "Who says I'd mind?"

"Besides…there's another reason I'm not afraid." Liz smiled up at him as her eyes danced with love. "I'm not afraid because I know you'll heal me. You'll always heal me. Just like you healed my body that day at the Crashdown. Just like you've healed my heart ever since."

Liz smiled when Max's arms came from behind his back to wrap around her waist and pull her closer. She could feel the object he'd been hiding from her against her back as she continued. "I know you. I know what happens to you when I'm not with you."

Max eyes drank in the sight of the beautiful girl in his arms. He'd loved her from a distance for so long that there were moments like now that he still couldn't believe she was his. His mouth had gone dry with the way she was looking at him and his voice crackled with emotion when he finally spoke. "You do, huh? And what…what happens when I'm not with you?"

Liz leaned up and breathed her answer lightly against his lips. "You go crazy."

Max's eyes closed and the explosion caused when their lips met rocked the ground they were standing on. At least it felt that way. Maybe it was just the sudden tremor in his knees and the dizziness that swept over him as her body flushed against his till it felt like they were one body. No. Till they felt like they were one soul.

Forgetting the game they had begun, Max lost himself in her as he brought his hands up to cup Liz's face when her arms wrapped around his neck pulling him closer to her. Just as he was about to be lost forever, Liz pulled back suddenly and giggled breathlessly with glee. "I got it!" She announced with pride before she held something up to his eyes.

It was then he realized somewhere in that kiss, she'd managed to gain possession of the black velvet box he'd been hiding from her earlier. Max began to chuckle at her enthusiasm and gazed at her with complete adoration. God how he loved her. Letting out a sigh of defeat, Max reached over and ran his fingers through her long silky hair. "Yeah, you did, you little sneak. But…since I enjoyed the technique you used so much…why don't you go ahead and open it."

Looking up at him with an expectant grin, Liz asked almost shyly. "Can I really?"

"Of course you can." Max responded with a smile, his voice lowering tenderly. "It was made especially for you."

Liz plopped down on her lounge chair and pulled Max down next to her then took a deep breath before turning her full attention to the box she held in her hands. She could feel Max's anticipation as he sat next to her and knew instantly whatever was hidden in this box was going to be big. She swallowed then slowly opened the box.

Her eyes widened when she saw the exquisite ring inside. The main stone was amber with two tiny diamonds on either side set in gold. "Is this…" Liz's voice trailed off as she suddenly became choked with tears. Looking up into Max's deep brown eyes with awe and disbelief, Liz began to slowly smile.

Max's grin widened and he began to nod his confirmation that the thoughts running through her head were indeed true. She didn’t need to voice them. He could read her like a book. "It's what you think it is, Liz. It's a piece of my past…of my planet. I had it made out of one of the stones. The ones River Dog gave us in the cave."

He took the ring from her hand and slowly slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. "See, the amber stone is from my world…the gold and diamond setting is from yours. I…I wanted to give you something…you know, something that would always connect us. That would remind us how perfectly we fit together."

Liz gasped as the ring on her finger suddenly began to glow. "Max…it's…"

Max nodded and his quiet smile deepened. "Glowing. I know." His chest expanded and contracted with the deep breath that he took and released before he cupped Liz's face in his hands. "And it always will…every time we think of each other and feel the love we have for each other in our hearts."

Liz started to giggle with happiness as she looked back down at the ring. "In that case, I may never be able to wear this in public…"

Max laughed too and rolled his eyes. "That's why this isn't your real engagement ring. We can't have you walking around for the rest of your life with a glowing hand can we?"

Max's smile faded from his lips only to increase in his dark brown eyes. "I just wanted…I wanted to give you something as special as you are. Something that shows you how you make me feel. I glow deep inside…every second that you love me. This is something that's…a part of me. I always want you to have a part of me, Liz."

"Oh, Max…" Liz's eyes stung with tears and it wasn't until Max reached up and lightly brushed her cheek with his thumb that she realized those tears had really fallen. "Max, I'll always have a part of you…" She took his hand in hers and laid it over her heart then continued in a whisper. "…in here. Forever, in here…"

There it was. The reason her heart stopped beating in her chest the moment she paused long enough to realize she was getting married…to someone other than Max Evans. It was the magnitude of the act she was committing against the giver of the ring she held in her hands that suddenly made it difficult for her to take her next breath. As if it were a betrayal to their promises. A betrayal of their love. But what should it matter? He was the first one to break them…the first to betray their sacred trust in each other…

"No. You…you can't possibly mean it." Liz's voice wavered with tears she fought valiantly to hold in check. "You don't…you don't love her. I know you don't. Max, tell me don’t right now and we'll just…we'll just pretend this conversation never happened."

"I can't, Liz." Max swallowed hard and looked away unable to meet the sight of her tears without breaking his own resolve. "I can't tell you what you want because it wouldn't be true."

Liz took a step toward him and made a simple demand. "Touch me."

"What?" Shocked eyes raised to meet hers.

"Do it, Max." She grabbed his hands in hers and began to plead with him. "Please, Max. Connect with me…the way you've done before. Let me see into your soul. You can't hide from me in there…"

Max shook his head emphatically and turned away, his chest aching with every beat of his breaking heart. "No."

"Then I won't believe you." A disbelieving laugh escaped her lips as tears began to run down her cheeks. She shook her head resolutely trying so hard to fight for the love she knew they had. "I'll never believe you. Look at you. You can't even look me in the eyes. You can't even say it…"

Max whipped around and threw his arms out in anger, frustration and pain knowing now was the moment to carry through with his plan or abandon it forever. "Fine! You want me to hurt you like that? Ok. Ok. I'll say it! I'm in love with Tess, Liz. Not you. She and I will go places together you and I could never possibly go. She's my soulmate. My destiny."

"NO! She isn't, Max! Don't say…" Liz's sentence hung in the air and her eyes closed suddenly as if she were in pain. Max took an unconscious step toward her, his own confusion and sudden fear going unnoticed as Liz doubled over in front of him. He reached for her and when he touched her skin she was cold and clammy. Feeling his touch, Liz jerked back from him her eyes popping open to reveal a vacant darkness. "Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me again!"

Max backed off not sure what had come over her and terrified out of his mind. "Liz…Liz, what's going on? What happened?"

"How could you?" Her voice was low and tense with pain. But there was something else there he'd never expected to hear…complete calm in the midst of utter hatred. "Leave. I never want to see your face again."

"Liz, babe! You ever gonna come out and show me that dress?" Maria's impatient voice called Liz out of the past and into her future.

Liz quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and pushed back the feeling of nausea that had washed over her as the image that had haunted her dreams over the past seven years came and went. It was that image that finally convinced her what she and Max once had was gone forever. It was the image of her boyfriend, Max Evans, and Tess making love.

"Yeah, I'm coming…" Liz called back to Maria in a shaky voice. Looking once more in the mirror, she checked her make up to make sure it hadn't run then took a deep breath and forced all thoughts of Max Evans out of her mind and a smile on her face. It was the only way she'd be even remotely convincing as the happy bride-to-be. The only way she'd make it through this day of making wedding plans. The only way she'd make it through the rest of her life without Max.

Stepping out from behind the door, Liz consciously widened her smile then held out her arms and looked at Maria expectantly. What she heard threw her for a loop. Maria sucked her breath in as her eyes swept over her lifelong best friend. "My God, Liz. You look beautiful. Max would absolutely die if he saw you…"

Liz's eyes flashed with pain and her arms dropped heavily to her side. "M…Max? Maria…" She took a deep breath and blinked back the sudden tears that formed in her eyes. "…what does any of this have to do with Max?"

Maria's eyes widened when she realized her slip of the tongue. Seeing the intense pain in Liz's eyes, she suddenly wondered if her plan was such a great idea after all. "Oh, God, Liz. I didn't mean…it just…"

With shaking voice, Liz swallowed hard then made a declaration in a no uncertain terms. "I am marrying Ben, Maria. Ben. Not Max. Ben is the man I was meant to be with. Max was a mistake. A mistake I've tried for seven years to forget."

"But Liz, I…" Maria began to explain but Liz cut her off.

"No. We've been over this before, Maria." Liz began a list Maria had heard before. And each time it was the same…the words were real but the conviction of her voice was flat. "Ben is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm lucky he's in my life. This day…these plans that we're making…they're for him. My future…is with him. The last person I want to think about is…"

Just then the door to the room flew open and in walked the object of their conversation. Both of them.

"Ben!" Maria exclaimed completely surprised by his presence before she noted the figure behind Ben.

He was standing like a statue. His dark velvet brown eyes sparked to life and a slight smile touched his lips as he stared straight ahead of him to the vision of his dreams.

"Max…"