Love at Third Sight (M/L, AU, Teen) Part 17 7/29 [WIP]

[cassie]

AN: I just wanted to thank everyone that's left feedback. My internet connection has screwed up again so I don't have enough time to respond to everyone individually atm, but I just wanted to you all to know that I never thought that anything that I wrote would ever generate such a debate. And I will be back asap to respond to your comments.

Chapter 9

Before Liz stepped through the front door, Max grabbed her hand, turning her to face him.

“I am SO sorry Liz. I didn’t want to upset you. I just thought I could…”

“That’s okay,” she replied, cutting him off. But she didn’t look him in the eyes and quickly bolted up the stairs, and away from him.

‘This wasn’t part of the plan,’ Max thought.

He now had no idea what to do to make things right. He waited a few minutes before making his way up to his room.

As he looked into Liz’s room on the way, he was shocked to find her and Kyle talking animatedly. He quickly moved away, before either of them could see him.

The sounds of their laughter still carried in to his room. Growing more and more frustrated, Max didn’t know what to do. He shut his door and jumped on to the bed face first. He remained there until Jim came to get him for dinner.

Dinner was an enjoyable affair, for most. Amy had made quite a few dishes, and they were enjoyed thoroughly.

Even though her mum was a fantastic cook, the talent had not been passed along to Maria. But Liz shared her enthusiasm for food, and they spent their time at dinner discussing recipes, while Max and Kyle talked about their football buddies.

Maria spent the majority of dinner teasing Jim about how whipped he was. His vehement denials only spurred her on. Truthfully, she was glad that her Mum had found him. When her father had abandoned them, Amy had sworn off men altogether. She was determined to prove that one did not need a man. But anyone could see that they were fantastic together, even if it had taken the duo a long time to realise that themselves.

After dinner Max insisted on helping Maria to clean the dishes, with everyone else moving into the lounge room. He wanted someone that knew Liz really well to help him out.

She hadn’t looked at him once during dinner, and despite her meek refute, he knew that she was upset with him.

“So,” Maria began, looking around to see if the coast was clear. “How’d it go with Liz before?”

Seeing Max’s expression, she continued, “That bad, huh?”

“Spill. What did you say? What did she say?” Then, almost in reflectance, she said, “She doesn’t seem that upset.”

“I don’t know about that. She was pretty mad at me. But when we got back she was joking around with Kyle like nothing had even happened,” Max spat out bitterly.

Maria merely raised her eyebrow as Max growled out Kyle’s name.

“Well, Liz isn’t one to fly off the handle. What did you say to her?”

“Nothing,” Max said defensively.

“It started off really well. We were just talking, and she seemed really relaxed so I brought up the Crash.”

“Then what happened?” Maria asked, handing Max a large saucepan to dry.

“We kind of got on to the subject of her parents. When I suggested that she talk to them, she refused to listen to me. And that’s when we came home.”

“Hmmmm…” Maria mulled.

“She hasn’t talked to me since,” Max confided.

“I think that the fact that she got angry shows that you’ve hit a nerve. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her.”

Max felt really bad that Maria had to come in and fix his mistakes.

“I’m really sorry Maria.”

“Don’t be silly Max. It’ll be fine,” said Maria as they made their way in to the lounge room to join the others surrounding the TV.

Unfortunately Maria didn’t get a chance to talk to Liz before she went up to bed. Liz wasn’t extremely mad at Max, she knew that everyone would badger her about talking to her parents if she came back home.

Liz was more annoyed because everyone was right. She really did need to talk to her parents. It was a lot easier to put it off and blame them when she was far away in New York.

But at home, surrounded by happy memories, she missed them. She just didn’t know if she could handle it if they didn’t take the news too well. Her parents were slightly old fashioned, and she knew they wouldn’t be pleased that she was pregnant without being married, or at least engaged. Plus they hadn’t been very happy with her last time she had seen them.

More importantly she knew that Max was right, and that she would regret it if she didn’t at least give them an option of being a part of her child’s life.

Now she felt really bad about how she had treated Max when he had only been trying to help. She vowed to fix things with him the next morning.

Max was already up, and out by the time she woke up the next morning. She spent the morning with Amy and Maria going over last minute preparations for the anniversary party, later in the evening.

The party was being catered, and there was not much decorating to be done, considering it was going to be held outdoors. Nevertheless the trio spent much of their morning fixing up things, before Amy and Maria went off for some mother-daughter bonding at the beauty clinic.

As Liz hadn’t decided to come, until the last minute she was unable to go with them and had to stay at home. She was watching Ugly Betty when her phone rang.

A frantic Amy was on the line. She’s forgotten to organise to have the cake delivered to the venue. So Liz was going to have to find a way to pick up the cake from the shop which was about an hour away. Reassuring Amy that she’d be able to get it done and get to the party on time, Liz hung up the phone realising that she didn’t have a car with her. Jim’s car and keys were still there, but Liz couldn’t drive a manual car.

Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it, Max came home while she was trying to figure out a plan.

He saw straight away from her stance that she was worried about something. She was kind of hunched over, still staring at the telephone, with her brows furrowed.

“Are you okay?” Max asked.

“Huh?” Liz asked as she twirled around to see him.

“You look worried. Is everything okay?” he asked as he came closer to her, to inspect her expression better.

“Ah, Amy just called. She needs someone to pick up the cake. And she and Maria are at the beauty salon and Jim’s at work. I don’t know where Kyle is. And I can’t drive Jim’s car.”

“It’s okay Liz. I’ll come with you.”

She smiled up at him thankfully. She thought that he wouldn’t want to be anywhere near her, considering the way that she had treated him yesterday.

“We have to leave now to make it back on time though.”

“Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s go. Where are Jim’s keys?”

“I’ll get them,” she said as she went to retrieve them from the kitchen counter.

“Are you sure that he won’t mind me driving his car?” Max asked.

“Nah, it’ll be fine. If we get the cake, he’ll be more than happy.”

After he helped her in to the car, they took off. Awkwardness developed between them. And for quite a long period none of them spoke, save for Liz giving Max directions to the bakery.

Finally, having enough, Liz took the plunge. “I’m sorry about yesterday Max. You were right.”

“No Liz. You don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s none of my business.”

“But you only did it because you are worried about me. And look at how I treated you.”

“It’s fine Liz. You didn’t do anything. It’s all my fault.”

“No Max…” Liz began, before being interrupted by Max again.

“It was.”

“Let’s just forget about it,” Liz suggested.

Max nodded his head, agreeing with her.

They were both glad to clear up the awkwardness and chatted normally for the rest of their trip, without any incidents.

After dropping off the cake, they made their way through the centre of Roswell to go back to Amy’s house, to get changed before the big party.

As they passed the CrashDown, Liz thought about what Max told her and realised that she had to talk to her parents.

“Wait,” she said. “Stop here.”

Luckily there were no cars behind him, and Max was able to pull up a few spots away from the Crash.

“Why? What’s going on Liz? I thought you didn’t want to talk to them?”

“I know what I said. But, you are right. I have to, at least, try and talk to them…. I’m ready.”

He looked at her quizzically as she got out of the car, made it ten steps towards the entrance before turning around and fleeing back to the car.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, as he looked at her eyes, which were quickly filling up with tears.

“You know what, I can’t do this.”

“Of course you can Liz.”

“No Max. Take me back to Amy’s, this was a bad idea.”

He reached over and draped an arm around her shoulder, letting her lean on him, to get the support that she required. When she finally stopped crying, he asked her again, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yep,” she said, still sniffling. Max couldn’t believe that anyone could look so adorable with bloodshot eyes and blotchy cheeks. He reached out to pat her head, “Tell me about your parents Liz. What were they like, when you were growing up?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Max replied.

“Well Mum has always been a typical mum. Complaining about my messy room and my grades. Before we moved here she used to be a receptionist, but after Dad bought the Crash she just used to help him out, especially with the paperwork.”

“And Dad. He would always make a point of listening to me talk about what I was learning in school, even though half the time, I’m sure he had no idea what I was talking about. He was wonderful, so encouraging. He always knew what was going on in my life.”

“You know what?” she said, “I have to do this.”

“Are you sure Liz?” Max asked. He was still feeling guilty for bringing her down to Roswell. He didn’t want to be the reason why she had shed even one teardrop, let alone the river she had earlier.

“Yep,” she said, smiling broadly. “I can’t be like Michael, running from everything. I need them to know that they are going to be grandparents, no matter how bad our relationship is.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, getting out of the car to stand next to her. “I’ll be right by your side.”

Liz was so grateful that Max had come with her. Maria was far too emotional, and Michael would have gotten angry and blown up by now. “Thank you Max.”

He opened the door to the CrashDown, allowing her to pass. It was a lot easier this time, with Max by her side.

Her eyes scanned the restaurant. It had only been a handful of months since she’d been there, and it wouldn’t seem like anything would have changed in that time to the untrained eye. But to Liz, she saw the new young waitress in the corner, getting bullied by Mr. Connelly. She saw the new milkshake machine, and the big stain on the floor near the cash register.

But she didn’t focus on any of that. She saw the familiar posture, bent over a booth towards the back, recognising it anywhere. She waited, taking a hesitant step forwards, towards him, waiting for him to turn around.

The customers stopped talking, looking at her. He followed their eye line turning around, and dropped the plate in his hand. Moments passed without any noise. All of the patrons in the CrashDown seemed to have realised they were witnessing a momentous occasion and stopped talking and eating, and begun staring at the pretty young woman and handsome man that had caused such a reaction from the owner.

Finally Jeff stepped closer towards them. “Lizzie, is that you?” he asked disbelievingly as he stared at her rounded stomach...

[cassie]

AN: Sorry for the delays yet again. I'll try to update more frequently but no promises. Am having some problems with the next few parts so wanted so see everyone's opinion. There is an option on having Tess enter the story (as an evil or nice character). Shall I make this fic a bit more of an ensemble or do you want me to focus on M/L? Let me know any opinions/objections please!

Thanks for all the feedback. My responses from last time;
begonia: Liz is like all females, stubborn. And Max is just trying for her.
Blink1lit: Max does seem to be pushing her, but I guess he doesn't realise it. He just wants to walk in and fix the situation for her.
Alien_Friend: Liz's reluctance is understandable, even with Max's fine efforts.
Michelle in Yonkers: Your worst case scenario never entered my mind, but now that I think about it could be quite plausable. When your as pregnant as she is, its not hard to tell someone your pregnant.
guel: True, Maria does know her better and has more of a reason to try and mend her relationship with her parents.
ShatteredDreamer: Max doesn't realise how hard he's pushing Liz. And I'm sure you'll see it developing even more soon.
SmileeUK: Max does need to work on his persuasive skills.
polar vixen: In this instance Liz has only tried to mend the bridge once, and I think that she could not be happy unless she gave them at least one more chance. But I do agree about the grandchild affecting their decision. I think it has more to do with Nathan than anything else.
Michelle in Yonkers: Liz is at a time where the advice of someone that has being through a similar experience is invaluable. I'm sure all first time mothers have lots of doubts and anxieties. And she needs someone that she can ask all her seemingly silly questions. Perhaps Maria and Michael are to blame for not making more of an effort to push for a reconciliation, but I think that they have been busy enough dealing with the repurcusions of the 'heels' death. The fact that her parents were right about the heel, only makes it harder for Liz to go and confront her parents.

Now on to feedback for the most recent part:
Emz80m: Thanks. That remains to be seen however.
guel: Thanks, I'm actually trying to! Hope you like the next bit.
Michelle in Yonkers: The first reaction does seem to be promising but you'll find out more in the part...
begonia: Lol, I didn't think of that
Alien_Friend: As I said to begonia, thought didn't cross my mind. But you'll find that out below
Thanks for the bumps keepsmiling7!

This part is a little shorter but I promise to update next week. After that though, I can't predict when.

Chapter 10

"Y..Yes..." Liz whispered. She closed her eyes, took another step forward and continued, "It's me Daddy."

"Oh, Lizzie Bear," Jeff exclaimed as he finally crossed the CrashDown floor and engulfed her in his arms.

The patrons continued to stare at the couple. Roswell was such a small town; they all knew that the Parkers weren't in contact with their children anymore.

The rumour mill would be working overtime that afternoon, concocting a variety of scenarios for the falling out, many of which would centre around Liz's pregnancy and the handsome stranger that came in to the CrashDown with her.

When the duo finally pulled apart, they both had tears in their eyes.

“I can’t believe it,” Jeff whispered, pulling her into his arms once again. “It’s been so long.”

“I’m so sorry Daddy,” Liz cried through her tears. Now that she was in his arms again, all her reasons for staying away for such a long time seemed so trivial. There was something about being in the embrace of one’s father; it transports you back to a time in your life where all of your troubles could be forgotten by some soothing words and warmth.

It didn’t matter at all, at this moment, how her dad had acted when she moved in with Nathan. It was obvious that he still loved her, and that’s all that mattered to Liz.

She noticed sadly how his hair had started graying. Amy had been right in saying that he seemed to have aged a lot. Liz started feeling guilty, hoping that she hadn’t contributed too much to the changes.

“Jeff,” a voice called out from the back of the restaurant. Liz stiffened and twirled around, placing her hands over her stomach protectively.

Jeff didn’t seem to hear though, and looked a bit confused when Liz puller out of his embrace so abruptly.

“Jeff,” it called out once again, after not receiving a response. Then, the figure of Nancy Parker appeared in the CrashDown.

“Where did you put…” Nancy’s question trailed off when she saw who Jeff was standing with.

“You,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand in shock.

Not knowing if that was a good or a bad greeting, Liz stayed where she was.

After a moment, Nancy regained her composure. She glanced around the CrashDown, realising that the family had the undivided attention of all of their patrons.

Not wanting the entire town to hear about their family business she motioned, with her head, for Liz and Jeff to move upstairs before turning around and briskly walking back out of the door that she had appeared from only a moment ago.

Jeff moved to follow her, patting Liz reassuringly on her shoulder as he walked past. She hesitated for a moment before following him through the door as well.

This left Max standing in the middle of the Crash. Unsure of whether to follow her, he moved towards the exit before remembering his promise to Liz. He swiftly turned and followed them through the door and walked up a flight of stairs.

Following the sounds of movement, he walked down a corridor and paused in front of the doorway of, what he assumed was the living room.

Jeff was bustling around in the kitchen part, while Liz was sitting on a sofa with both her hands on her temples and Nancy was pacing the floor in front of her. Not wanting to intrude, he continued to watch the three.

Jeff passed Liz a sandwich of some type and sat down beside her, but not before Max saw him glance at her stomach with an unreadable expression.

Liz smiled at him gratefully and began to devour the sandwich. Nancy looked up at the noise, but continued to pace. She was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn’t notice Max observing them, an arm’s length away.

When Liz finished the sandwich, she moved to try and put her plate in the sink, but couldn’t get up at her first attempt.

Jeff halted her second attempt and placed the plate in the sink himself. When he joined Liz on the couch again, Nancy abruptly stopped her pacing and turned to face them.

“Well….” She prompted Liz.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” she sneered.

Liz blinked in surprise. On her guard, due to the tone of her mother’s voice she said softly, “Sorry?”

“You heard me. What do you have to say for yourself? You’ve been gone for months now, shacked up with that…. that useless boy. And we haven’t heard from you or your good-for-nothing brother.”

Unsure of what else to say, Liz tried to unjumble her thoughts. She immediately tried to leap to Michael’s defence, but before she could say anything at all Nancy continued.

“Why did you come back? Why are you here? Do you need money? If you do, you aren’t going to get any. We sent you to college, and what did we get in return? Nothing. That’s right, nothing.”

Liz began fidgeting with the hem of her top. This was exactly the type of reception she had been expecting, hence her reluctance to come back home.

“Where is he?” Nancy continued. “Knocked you up and doesn’t even have the guts to come and face the consequences. This just shows you that he is going nowhere in life, and now you’ll be joining him as well.”

Even though he probably didn’t deserve her loyalty, Liz hated the way that her parents, particularly her mother would talk about Nathan. He had proven himself to not be the man that she thought he was, but Liz couldn’t help but remember the man that he was when they first met.

He was sweet, attentive and romantic. He was her first serious boyfriend, and she had genuinely believed that he would be the one that she would grow old with.

“He’s not useless, and despite what you think I am going somewhere,” Liz said stubbornly.

“Ha,” Nancy laughed. “Well, where is he then? He’s the reason why I haven’t seen either of my kids for months. We didn’t know if you were okay, or where you went. Just wait till I get my hands on him. Where is he?”

Liz was unable to respond. Even though Nathan died a while ago, it was still surreal for her to utter those words.

“Well?” Nancy continued questioning with her hands on her hips. “Where is he?”

“He’s DEAD, OKAY?” Liz screamed, standing up abruptly.

“Are you happy now? He’s dead,” she said softer with tears streaming down her face.

Both of her parents’ heads snapped up at that remark.

Jeff, who had been silent up till then, tried to console Liz. “Lizzie bear…” he began softly, putting his hands on her side.

“No Dad,” she said brushing his hands away.

“ISN’T that what you wanted to hear?” she screamed at her mother. “Are you HAPPY now? He’s dead, and now I’m all alone.” Liz was now sobbing uncontrollably and shaking.

“I told you that he was involved with the wrong crowd. But did you listen to me? Of course not. He probably got involved in something shady. Didn’t I tell you this would happen?”

That was the last think that Liz wanted to hear. She started crying even harder.

Jeff glared at Nancy while trying to figure out a way to calm Liz down.

Max decided to intervene then, after seeing Liz so worked up. He cleared his throat and walked towards her.

All three Parkers looked at him, each with a different expression; confusion, guilt and gratitude.

[cassie]

AN: Thanks everyone for the feedback and for the great betaing Steph. Unfortunately the next part might be a while a way, I've been focusing on the steamy one-parter that came to me recently so keep your eyes peeled.
Natalie36: Lol. I feel like doing that too.
Arianneleigh: She does come across that way. And thanks for answering my question
Alien_Friend: Thanks. I think that Jeff is a prime example of someone 'under the thumb' of their wife.
twilight: Thanks for reading. I think that Nancy was caught by surprise and let out of all her pent up frustrations at Liz. Also, thanks for anwering my question. I'm still undecided on it.
begonis9508: She does seem to be. Perhaps...
Michelle in Yonkers: Lol, Nancy is an alien. Maybe someone can buy her one. I think Max was also a bit shocked by the Parker family dynamics as you'll find out in the next part.
rar1942: Thanks for reading. That was a really interesting piece of information. Nancy isn't acting like a proper mother at all.
Guel: I'm glad you like Jeff. Thanks for answering my question. I'm still undecided about that, hence the reason why the next part may take a while.
SmileeUk: She does come across that way. Hopefully with the help of Max!
keepsmiling7: Thanks. Here we are.....
Steph: Thanks Steph. You're a great help!

Chapter 11

Max came up and stood beside Liz, on her other side, and began to softly stroke her arm. She looked up into his eyes, trying to convey her gratitude.

But before either of them could do, or say anything more, Jeff spoke up, “And who are you?”

“Max. Max Evans sir,” Max replied, extending his arm out for Jeff to shake.

“Well, what are you doing here?” Nancy questioned.

Max was taken aback by her directness, and before he had the chance to reply, Liz cut in, “He’s with me.” After seeing Max’s amused expression, she amended her statement, “He’s here for me.”

“He’s what? Why?” Nancy responded.

“Maybe we should all sit down?” Max suggested seeing the way Liz’s body tensed again.

“This is a family discussion. What right do you have to be here, adding in your input?”

“Mum, be as rude to me as you like, but Max is just here to support me. After all, he’s the only reason why I came back to see you.”

“I’m still your mother Elizabeth, and we didn’t raise you to talk to your parents like this,” Nancy screeched.

After she finally realised what Liz said, Nancy responded, “What do you mean he’s the only reason why you came back? We are your parents. What did we do to get both of our children to desert us with no word. Nothing to let us know that how they are doing.”

“If you were that worried, all you had to do was ask Amy or Jim, and they would have given you all of our contact details. But you didn’t. You had every opportunity to do so.”

“I shouldn’t need to beg virtual strangers about the details of my children’s lives.”

“Strangers?” Liz scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Amy’s been like a second mother to me.”

“Was the first one not enough?” Nancy asked with one eyebrow arched.

Before the two could begin another squabble Jeff intervened.

“That’s enough! This is not going anywhere,” he said in a stern voice.

Liz guiltily looked at her father, and then the floor. Even Nancy seemed reproachful.

He turned to Liz, with tears in his eyes. “I’m so glad to see you again darling.”

Liz was once again taken into his warm embrace. After going so long without a hug from her father, she was overjoyed to receive two in such short succession despite the circumstances.

“But, this has been quite an overload for your mother and I. I think we all need some time to think and reflect, and then we will be able to actually talk. Perhaps it’s best if you come back tomorrow?”

“You can’t be serious Jeff,” Nancy said.

But Liz readily accepted Jeff’s offer out of the confrontation.

“Okay Daddy, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said rising to her toes to kiss his cheek.

As she passed Nancy, she nodded her head and said, “Mum.”

With that goodbye, she quickly exited the room, and waited for Max at the top of the stairs.

He gave her upper arm a squeeze before they made their way down the stairs.

Liz was so relieved about leaving that she didn’t even notice that all the patrons in the CrashDown had once again stopped talking and stared at them as they exited.

Only once she was back in the car did Liz let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, that went well,” she remarked dryly.

Max was a bit unsure of what to say. He was shocked at the intensity of how Liz and her mother had argued. Sure, growing up he had butted heads with his parents a few times, but he couldn’t ever remember being in a heated argument with them. Diane and Philip Evans were not the kind of people to lose their cool. He couldn’t fathom the anger that Liz and Nancy had towards one another.

Deciding to play it cool, he said, “So how are you feeling?”

Liz took a moment to answer, as she was trying to find the correct words to adequately describe her current feelings.

“I don’t know. It was great to see Dad again, and I feel like a big pressure has been lifted since I’ve been to see them. It’s just, I knew that they wouldn’t be pleased, but I never expected Mum to flip out like that.”

“I’m sure that you just took her by surprise. You’ll see tomorrow. She’ll be … nicer,” Max said reassuringly.

Liz snorted, but didn’t say anything in response.

Max was still a bit unsure of how to proceed now. After all this was all his idea. He certainly didn’t expect anything like this to happen. He wished he hadn’t pushed Liz to come back and face her parents without any warning. ‘Maybe we should have called to warn them first,’ he thought.

“Well, we better get this cake back before Amy gets worried,” Max said.

“Sure, Max,” said Liz.

There was dead silence on the drive back to the Valenti household.

Neither Max nor Liz could think of something appropriate to say.

Liz was so embarrassed that Max had witnessed that argument with her mum. ‘He must think my entire family is loony,’ she thought. Nancy had never been the type of person to censor her thoughts. A fact that Liz had hated growing up. She would always tell her friends embarrassing stories about her when they would visit.

Liz fidgeted with her purse, trying to keep her hands and her mind occupied, not wanting to continue to worry about her mother’s hostile behaviour.

She glanced at her mobile phone, and noticing the 8 missed calls quickly rang Maria.

“What’s wrong?” Liz asked immediately after Maria picked up.

“Where are you?” Maria shouted loudly. Even Max could hear her.

“We’re on the way back now.”

“You do realise that we need to leave in 15 minutes. 15 minutes Liz. And you’re not even dressed. Kyle’s refusing to wear a tie and I lost my black strappy shoes. Did I bring them with you? You know the ones I’m talking about, don’t you. With the big bow. Not the ones with the velvet, they were ugly but with the ribbon material. Are you listening to me?”

“15 minutes is okay. It’ll be fine. Sure I am. See you in a sec,” Liz said trying to get off the phone.

Liz and Max looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Ah, a DeLuca panic attack. Haven’t witnessed one in years,” Max said fondly.

Liz laughed again and the tension between them dissipated.

By the time they arrived back at the house both were much more relaxed with each other; the earlier confrontation being pressed to the back of their minds......

[cassie]

AN: I can't believe how quickly time flies. Huge apologies in the time that it has taken for me to post this update. It's quite short and unbetaed, but I've already written a chunk of the next part. Hopefully that's not too far away. A big thanks to everyone that left feedback - keepsmiling7, Emz80m, Natalie, Eve, Guel, Alien_Friend and Steph.

Chapter 12

It took Liz longer than 15 minutes to get ready. By the time they left the house more than half an hour had passed, but Amy and Jim didn’t seem too worried that they would be late. Maria, on the hand, was trying to move everyone along continually yelling instructions to everyone, but mainly confusing them all by yelling out instructions to tasks that were already complete.

The Valenti’s had decided to have their celebration outdoors, and luckily for them the night was warm. They had managed to transform a vacant piece of grassland on the outskirts of town into the perfect venue.

Fairy lights had been set up in the bushes surrounding the area, with candles on the tables, and lanterns burning to keep the mosquitos away. The golden tones of the fire were reflected in the white table cloths giving the entire area a warm glow.

Liz walked around the area with Maria gushing about how beautiful the decorations were. It was such a beautiful garden transformed with all the lights and chairs. It was exactly the kind of place that Liz would have loved to have a wedding reception.

‘But that ship has sailed,’ Liz thought to herself. ‘Who would want to marry me now?’ As she thought this she looked down at her stomach and rubbed it as if reassuring herself that there was still a baby there. In spite of what had happened since it had been conceived, Liz couldn’t love the child growing within her any more than she already did.

Liz couldn’t help glancing at Max to see what he was doing. She wasn’t surprised to see him surrounded by some of Kyle’s old basketball team mates. It was so strange that he knew so many of the same people that she did, but they just didn’t know them at the same time.

She witnessed one of his trademark grins and couldn’t help but melt a little on the inside. Max had been so kind to her since that first visit to the doctor’s clinic. He had become one of the most important people in her life in such a short time.

But it was only in her deepest dreams that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

As though he could read her thought, Max glanced up and looked Liz right in the eyes, before she blushed and lower her eyes. When she looked back up Max was still watching her intently.

At the end of her gaze, Max found himself surrounded by people that he hadn’t seen or though of in years. To be honest, he even got a bit confused over a few of the guys names in the basketball team, as he hadn’t played with some of them for very long at all.

He would much rather be spending more time with Liz anyway. He just wanted to make sure that she was okay, that’s all. ‘She's had a tough day, and as her physician I’m just worried about her health, that’s all,’ he thought. ‘It’s got nothing to do with feelings. I’m just doing my job,’ Max reasoned.

After finally finding a break in the conversation Max wandered around the perimeter looking at the gardens before bumping into Jim and Amy.

It was nice to see the duo who were obviously besotted with each other. He couldn’t ever remember seeing his parents look at each other like that.

Max thanked them once again for their hospitality in allowing him to stay at their home. But neither thought that they had gone out of their way at all.

Catching him sneaking glances at Liz, Amy elbowed him. “Enjoying the view?”

Max couldn’t help the blush that spread across his face, making him feel like he was back in high school.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d watched someone of the opposite sex for no reason at all.

But lately, he was finding it harder and harder to keep his eyes off Liz. She was so radiant and so unaware of her own charms and he found that very endearing.

He was her doctor. He didn’t have time for a girlfriend, working such long hours. And Liz had just got out of a relationship and was still grieving for her boyfriend. It was just bad circumstances. He would have to be content with being her friend and nothing more.

Max was beginning to think that maybe his priorities in life were wrong. Sure, he had an excellent position for someone of his age. He’d spent time overseas learning about the health care system in other countries.

Yet, he came home to an empty apartment at the end of the day. He wanted what the others had. That kind of intimacy that only comes from knowing another person really well over a long period of time. They were such a close knit group, almost like a family.

Although Isabel and Max got along fine, they never had that kind of warmth in their relationship. Most of the time spent with his sister was out of obligation because she was his sister so it was appropriate to spend time with her, rather than him being dying to see her. When he saw the way that Michael looked at Liz, and the way he would do little things without realising it to help her, and he wanted a relationship like that. He’d never really thought much about his family but he was beginning to realise that they were lacking in many departments.

There she was, dwarfed by the six or so guys surrounding her. Max could no longer deny the jealousy bubbling with him.

He watched as she laughed at something Paulie said, revelling in the way she tossed her head back and the sound of her laughter. But when Paulie put his hand on her upper arm and lent in closer to whisper something in her ear, he almost choked.

Jim had to pat him on his back roughly.

“Are you alright Max?” he asked.

Max was surprised by how hard Jim actually hit him and took a moment to respond to the question.

“Fine!” he said, with his voice coming out a little higher than normal. Max cleared his throat, and repeated, “Fine.”

Jim looked at him quizzically and shrugged, deciding that he must be okay.

Across the lawn Jim spotted someone that he hadn’t seen in a while, and turned to Max to apologise for leaving but realised he needn’t have bothered.

Max was striding across the grass, making a beeline for Liz with his previous conversation with Jim the furthest thing on his mind.

Jim once again shrugged his shoulders, and quickly ran after Arthur before he got away too.

Max hadn’t even realised when he’d begun to move but before he knew what he was doing he was standing awkwardly before Liz and Paulie…..

[cassie]

AN: Sorry this has taken so long, again. My grandma passed away earlier this month and I haven't felt much like writing something so light. Anyway this has been sitting on my computer almost completed for a while now, so I thought I'd post it. I'll try not to make you wait as long for the next part...

Thank you to everyone for the feedback/bumps. And thanks for reading this so quickly Steph!
Alien_Friend: Thank you! I really enjoy reading your feedback. And better late than never...
begonia9508: Aren't they ever! Nancy is unhappy that Liz is not following the progression of her life as she thought it should happen. Thanks.
Al: Nancy isn't going to win any mother of the year awards anytime soon. Don't worry. I am now the Queen of once every three month updating. And I got to tell you, it ain't so good up here!
Emz80m: Thanks
keepsmiling7: Thanks for all the bumps. Max realises more about what his life is missing in this part.
pijeechinadoll: Well I have some more here for you....

And don't throw anything at me when you get to the end...

Chapter 13

“Paulie,” Max said while tipping his head in acknowledgement.

Unsure of what to do now, Max looked towards Liz.

Now that he was standing right in front of her, he couldn’t help but notice how the soft glow from the candles and lights made Liz’s skin glow even more.

He could even see the lights reflected in those bright brown eyes of hers. So lost at in looking at her, he hadn’t even thought of a legitimate reason for interrupting their conversation.

Luckily, Paulie spoke up before things got even more awkward.

“Max,” he said patting him on the back. “Gee, it’s been a while.”

Max smiled. “How have you been?”

“Good. Good,” Paulie replied.

Again an awkward silence fell upon the group. Max didn’t really know Paulie that well and tried to rack his brain to think of something to ask him about.

He settled for asking Paulie where he lived.

“I’ve been in Philly for a year or so. My wife’s from there originally.”

“Wife?” Max asked. He couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face at that revelation.

“Yep,” Paulie responded proudly. “Been married for almost two years now.”

“That’s great,” Liz said excitedly. “So what’s her name?”

Seeing Liz and Paulie talk so animatedly about his wife, Max felt very foolish for the way he felt moments earlier. Paulie was obviously in love with another woman, and Liz and he were only friends.

She was no kind and gentle, there was no way that she was interested in him. She was just being friendly, besides she had just had her heart broken by Nathan.

He couldn’t help but be aggravated by his timing. When he was young, he had always dreamed of growing up and starting his own family. One where all members would spend time together, and actually talk about their feelings. In other words, a family that was the polar opposite of his own.

And now that he had met Liz again after all this time and his image of the family was becoming clearer in his mind. But it wasn’t going to eventuate, because she had just gotten out of a serious relationship, not to mention all the other drama that she was dealing with at the moment.

Max wondered what his life would have been like if the had never moved to NY. Would he have gotten along with Liz in high school? Would he have become best friends with Michael?

Realising, that it was worthless to ponder on details of the past, Max tuned back in to the conversation, and was surprised to see that Maria had joined them.

He spent the remainder of the night talking to people he hadn’t seen in years, and many that he’d never met before. All in all, it was a pretty draining day, and a very weary bunch of people climbed back up the stairs to go to bed that night.

Max had a hard time sleeping, even though he was so tired. The events of the day kept repeating in his head. He was really glad that Liz was talking to him again, and even more pleased that she went and confronted her parents. He was still reserving his judgement on how well he actually thought that went.

In fact, he really didn’t want to think about that confrontation at all. But that was not the reason why sleep was evading Max. Not wanting to confirm the exact reasons behind his insomnia, there was no escaping the fact that it was definitely linking to Liz.

Max groaned and rolled over again, trying to block out mental pictures of her. He spent a few minutes trying to imagine a flock of sheep lining up, getting ready to jump over his bed. But that didn’t work. As soon as he stopped concentrating really hard the sheep disappeared and were replaced with images of Liz.

She had really looked radiant that night, with no one being able to imagine the distressing meeting she had had only hours earlier.

Finally admitting defeat Max trudged down the stairs trying to find his way in the dark. He walked as softly as he could so as not to awaken anyone else.

He softly felt his way around the kitchen, trying to remember where the fridge was since he couldn’t find a light switch.

He heard a soft giggle as he opened the fridge and quickly turned around to see Liz sitting on a stool in her dressing robe.

“Liz,” he said in astonishment. “What are you doing sitting here in the dark?”

“The little one was hungry,” Liz responded as the softly patted her belly.

“That doesn’t explain what you are doing in the dark.”

Liz blushed slightly. “I didn’t want to wake anyone up. Maria’s a very light sleeper. Besides I’m not the only one scurrying around in the dark,” she said playfully.

“Guilty,” Max responded in her playful tone.

“So what are you eating?” he asked peering in to her bowl.

“Ice cream with mmmfhh.”

“Sorry. What was that?” he asked, being unable to understand her muffled voice.

“Ice cream with mustard,” Liz said, urging him to make fun of her.

Max couldn’t help the horrified look that appeared across his face.

“It’s really not as bad as it sounds,” Liz said trying to placate him.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Max responded.

“You can try a bit, if you want?”

“Ummm. I think I’ll pass.”

“Come on Max. Give it a go. It really is good.”

Max still thought that it would taste horrendous and tried to decline again.

“You can’t judge it till you try it.”

Without responding, Max turned back to look for an alternative in the fridge. He was concentrating so hard in finding a safer alternative that he didn’t hear Liz creep up behind him.

When he felt something brush his right arm, he jerked around, coming face to face with Liz and her loaded spoon.

Max tried to turn around quickly but Liz was too fast and he ended up with a spoonful of ice cream and mustard mush on his face.

Liz sniggered in triumph and turned to walk back to her stool, but Max quickly grabbed her hand.

“Wha…..” she said turning around.

She couldn’t help but burst out laughing when she saw his face.

He looked down at her with ice cream dripping off the side of his face and an adorable expression.

“So what do you think?” she asked.

Max wanted to chase her around the kitchen to get her back, but couldn’t even maintain a façade of anger when he saw how happy she looked.

“I think I’ll stick to plain ice cream,” Max responded.

“Go sit down, and I’ll grab something to clean up with,” Liz said.

She sat down at a stool next to him trying to clean up the mush from his face with some paper towel.

Liz felt so nervous sitting next to him, and touching his face so intimately. To try and break up the embarrassing situation she started to ask him about his thoughts about the party, all the while studying his face without worrying about getting caught.

They had both enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at the party and the opportunity to catch up with people that they hadn’t seen in a while.

“So, did you like the food?” Liz asked. Amy had the party catered from a Moroccan restaurant so the cuisine was very rich and spicy.

She leant in, seeing some mush in his hair, and tried to wipe away the mess with the paper towel.

Max turned to answer her question, at the same time as she lost her balance and fell forward towards him.

He moved to stop her falling any further by pushing his body up against her.

Liz looked up at him, and was about to express her gratitude when she realised that she was inches from his face.

Recognising just how close they were, she began to blush. Max continued to meet her eyes, not allowing her to look away.

He softly held on to her hand to give her some support to get back on her seat. But Liz didn’t move, fascinated by his expression.

She reached up with the paper towel to wipe away a spot that she missed earlier and ended up even closer to Max, with their lips barely an inch apart.

She continued to stare in to his eyes for a few moments trying to decipher his expression.

Max lifted his other hand to brush away some hair that was falling in front of Liz’s eyes, and they were in closer proximity than before.

Liz closed her eyes, trying to savour all of her feelings.

Not knowing what to think, Max instinctively moved even closer, closing his eyes moving forward and…

[cassie]

AN: Apologies for everyone for the delays in posting. I've already written a chunk of the next two parts so hopefully you won't have to wait as long for them. I'm doing something a little strange and re-posting a new (and hopefully better) version of Chapter 14. Let me know if you are confused.

Thanks to everyone for leaving me feedback and for bumps. Also, to my beta Steph.
Ginger: I'm more close mouthed too. But Liz and Maria have always shared everything, so its not strange for them. Thanks
keepsmiling: Thank you. I'm really glad you are still reading
Alien Friend: Thanks. Maria was really good talking to Liz, and hopefully that will help out Liz's insecurities.
destinyc: Thanks. Sorry, it was a bit of a delay.
begonia: Thanks. i was really hoping for that to come across. Liz is very unsure of where she stands.
confusedfool: Thanks
natalie: Thanks
Guel: Thanks for all your bumps and feedback. Its been fantastic. I've been posting my fic already. It's on this thread and called my kind of exercise. There's only one part left that I'll be posting later this week.
Lena: Thanks. I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Chapter 14

Max lifted his other hand to brush away some hair that was falling in front of Liz’s eyes, and they were in closer proximity than before.

Liz closed her eyes, trying to savour all of her feelings.

Not knowing what to think, Max instinctively moved even closer, closing his eyes moving forward and…


moved towards her ear.

He gently ran his fingers through her hair, before whispering, “Can I kiss you?”

Liz was unable to respond verbally, but Max deciphered the slight nod of her head as a yes, and moved so that their faces were once again aligned.

But when he didn’t move forward quickly enough, Liz brought her lips forward to softly brush against his.

The slight touch had the butterflies in her stomach moving around like crazy. But that didn’t compare to when Max finally brought his lips down to hers.

He softly kissed her lips, increasing pressure as she parted her lips to allow him more access to her mouth.

Suddenly the kitchen was bathed in light. Max and Liz sprung apart quickly.

Totally embarrassed Liz could only look at her feet, her face turning a soft pink.

Max was embarrassed also but irritation won out. He tried to quickly and inconspicuously smooth down his clothes before turning to look at the intruder.

Not realising that he had walked in on something, Kyle had made his way to the fridge without even a glance in their direction.

After rummaging around for a few moments he gathered a couple of items, and then he was shocked to see the duo in the kitchen once he turned around.

“Whak…hing?” he muttered when he heard Liz’s giggle but neither understood what he said with his mouth already full of food.

Max stepped forward to help him, as one of the containers Kyle was holding wobbled, looking like it was about to fall.

Oblivious to the situation he had walked into Kyle went about making them all sandwiches, chatting away about the days events.

“Did you see Luke?” Kyle questioned Max.

“Who?”

“Edwards?” Kyle prompted, and Max finally remembered a round boy with the reddest hair he’d ever seen.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Kyle asked “Didn’t you recognise him?”

Max couldn’t think of anyone at the party that vaguely resembled him at all.

Everybody laughed at the look on Max’s face when Kyle explained that Luke was now the tall brunette that he’d talked to earlier in the evening.

Liz kept glancing at Max out of the corner of her eye, trying to be inconspicuous as he continued to chat with Kyle. She couldn’t believe that she had kissed him. She felt so slutty. She wasn’t the kind of girl that dated a lot, so had never had boyfriends that overlapped. But she felt like she should belong on a Jerry Springer episode having kissed Max whilst pregnant with another man’s child.

She imagined Maria’s reaction if she told her what she was thinking, and felt a little bit better, but still she didn’t know how to act around Max anymore. She tried to concentrate on acting normal, which wasn’t hard to do with Kyle around. He was so easy going, and she had forgotten how much she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him.

At the same time Max kept watching her interaction with Kyle. She didn’t seem fazed at all. He wondered if she had even felt anything when they kissed, the way she was acting.

He was so worried about her. For one of the first times in his life, he had just acted without thinking of the consequences. It’s not like he was regretting the kiss. He just wished they had talked before hand.

Now he didn’t know where he stood with her, and that was not a feeling that he enjoyed.

They ate their sandwiches in silence, and quickly dispersed back up the stairs after they had eaten.

This time as soon as his head hit the pillow Max was pulled into the land of dreams. Dreams full of possibilities. Childhood fantasies of the perfect suburban family.

At the other side of the house, Liz was alert yet tired. After finally finding a position that both she and the baby were comfortable in, she followed Max in to the dream world.



Max was amazed at the intensity of the sun peeping through his curtains as he awoke the next morning. Waking in the warmth of the sun was a sure way of starting the day on the right foot. It didn’t hurt that he’d experienced another night of sound sleep.

He trudged down the stairs after a quick shower, and found almost everyone else up in the kitchen.

Amy was making pancakes, and Max sat down next to Jim grabbing a couple and covering them in maple syrup.

He missed the look Amy gave him as he poured Liz a glass of milk.

“Thanks,” Liz stated, not quite meeting his eyes.

The slightly awkward moment was broken by Maria’s entrance. She walked in to the kitchen with one eye barely open fumbling around for coffee. She bumped into Jim carrying a hot cup of tea, but thanks to Kyle’s quick reflexes, a crisis was averted.

Their flight back wasn’t until the evening, so they had a couple of hours to spare.

Not really having anything else to do, Max went upstairs after breakfast to pack up his things.

He tried not to dwell on the Liz situation, quickly bundled the few items he brought with him into his bag.

By the time he got back downstairs no body was around.

He was contemplating going on another walk when Maria danced down the stairs.

"Watch ya doin?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, indicating nothing.

Maria was accompanying Liz to the Crash to meet her parents.

Max couldn't believe he'd forgotten all about that since the kiss. He’d been so caught up wondering about the repercussions of last night he’d pushed the confrontation he witnessed to the back of his mind.

He was instantly concerned about Liz, but before he could ask Maria anything Liz had joined them.

She gave Max a hesitant smile.

Maria asked her, "Ready?"

"Yep," she said, still looking at Max.

Seeing their interaction Maria asked, "Why don't you come too?"

"No, I don't want to intrude," Max responded.

"Don’t be silly."

"Yeah, you can keep me company while Lizzie here chats with her mom and dad,” Maria added.

Deciding to go along with the flow, Max joined them.

Liz was instantly relieved that she hadn't jeopardised their relationship last night.

She had to keep reminding herself that Max kissed her, not the other way around.

It only eased her guilt slightly.

She still felt like she had acted brazenly, and somehow taken advantage of Max.

The car ride wasn’t long, much the same as all rides in Roswell and soon they were parked out the front of the Crash.

Unlike yesterday Liz didn't hesitate before she left the car.

She did look really nervous though, but Maria gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder and swung her arm around hers, and they walked in together.

Jeff Parker was sitting down in a booth at the back watching the front door, like he was waiting for someone.

As soon as he saw Liz and Maria he was out of his seat.

They shared a quick group hug. Anyone looking would think that it was a father, excited to see his two daughters.

Maria was basically his daughter anyway, having spent all her teenage years inseparable from Liz. Then of course, she was soon to be married to his son and would legally become his daughter.

Jeff ruffled both of their hair affectionately; Liz smiled, but Maria shrieked and started swatting his hand away.

Max lingered behind them not wanting to intrude of their reunion.

Jeff noticed him after a moment, and moved forward to shake his hand.

“Good to see you Max,” he said politely, as though they had met many times before.

Jeff wasn’t too sure what to make of Max. He felt it was odd that he had accompanied his Lizzie here yesterday.

He still felt dreadful that Max had needed to step in to protect Liz from her own parents.

Jeff and his wife had spent the rest of that day, and most of this morning talking about the situation, and he hoped that things would be much smoother today…

[cassie]

AN: I'd like to thank anyone and everyone that is still reading this fic even with my terrible updating. The next part is almost finished, so you won't have to wait long this time. A huge thanks to Steph as well.
destinyc: Thanks
Natalie36: They will, but not in the part below
begonia: You'll find out more about the parents below. Thanks!
Alien_Friend: Thanks so much. This might be a bit familiar to you as well.
keepsmiling: I think you left some at Write On. I'm sorry about the sporadic updating...

Chapter 15

Maria tapped Liz on her shoulder, making sure that she’d be okay.

“Max and I will be just downstairs if you need us,” she said.

Liz had decided that she would go up and talk to her parents alone. She was so embarrassed by what Max had witnessed yesterday, and she didn’t want Maria to fight her battles for her.

After assuring Maria that she’d been fine, she followed her father towards the stairs.

She looked back at Max, who gave her an encouraging smile, and made her way up the stairs to the Parker family’s apartment.

Nancy was already sitting at the living room table when they got upstairs.

She gestured to the other seats, and they both quickly sat down.

Liz felt like she was five and going to get told off for not putting away her toys or something.

“Liz, your father and I spent a lot of time talking last night, and we want you to move back home,” Nancy said.

“What?” Liz replied completely taken aback. “No.”

“Lizzie, just think about it,” Jeff said, enveloping one of her hands in his.

“We just want to make sure that you and the baby are looked after. I can’t bear the thought of you being so far away from us if anything happens.”

Although the idea of being back home with all the comfort and familiarity it would bring sounded good, Liz didn’t want to move back. She had her own life now, and she didn’t want to leave Michael and Maria.

She didn’t want to be responsible for uprooting their lives yet again. ‘And you’d never see Max,’ a little voice inside her thought.

“I have Michael. And Maria,” Liz said.

“We just want you where we can keep an eye you,” Nancy said.

“Is that what this is about Mom?” Liz started getting angry.

“I know I’ve made some bad decisions in the past, but I don’t regret any of them.”

She caught her mum raising her eyebrow at the inflection in her tone.

“Yes, any of them. I won’t move back so that you can control my life.”

“That’s not what we are suggesting,” Jeff said.

Even Nancy looked a bit guilty.

“Then what are you talking about,” she said, lowering her voice slightly.

“We just don’t like you being so far away, honey,” her dad said softly.

“We’ve already missed out on so much of your lives,” Nancy said accusingly.

“You are the one that told me to leave,” Liz pointed out.

“Yes, but we never expected you to do it,” she said.

Liz looked at her mother in confusion.

“You were withdrawing form us, and we didn’t know what to do,” Nancy admitted. “We knew what a bad seed Nathan was, but you seemed so blind to it.”

“Admittedly giving you an ultimatum wasn’t the best idea, but we’d never had any problems with you before. We didn’t know what to do,” Jeff stated.

“Why didn’t you talk to me?” Liz asked.

“When?” Nancy questioned. “You were never home. You were always so defensive.”

“Is that what you think? I had no idea.”

“You changed so quickly, and we had no idea what was going on. We were just trying to protect you from making some bad decisions,” said Nancy.

“Just promise us, you’ll at least think about it,” Jeff said.

“Sure daddy,” Liz said. But she couldn’t imagine coming back to live in Roswell now. She would be so far away from everyone else, and she couldn’t ask them to move for her again.

Liz even managed to give her mum a tentative smile as she left.

There was no way that their relationship was even close to being repaired but at least she had more reasoning behind her mother’s actions lately.

After promising to call her parents when she got back home, she went downstairs.

Max and Maria were eating their lunch while talking, but quickly dropped their conversation when they caught sight of her.

Liz slid into the booth they were occupying, next to Maria and grabbed a chip off Max’s plate.

She hadn’t realised how hungry she was until she saw all their food.

“How’d it go?” Maria asked.

Liz gave a non-committal shrug and they steered the conversation to another subject.

Time passed quickly as they ate their lunch and all too soon they had to leave in order to make it to their flight.

They quickly raced back to the house to pick up their gear.

Jim was ready to take to them to the airport, so Max and Jim piled the girls’ bags into the back of the car while they said their goodbyes.

Liz looked close to tears as she said goodbye to Amy.

Even Max felt a twinge of something saying good bye to Jim and Amy. It wasn’t regret, more like longing. He couldn’t imagine what life it would be like with parents that were actually interested in their children’s lives.

This time, they hadn’t been able to get seats together so Maria and Liz sat together and Max sat a few rows behind them.

Even though he had slept soundly that night Max eventually fell asleep on the plane without anything else to do. Maria and Liz on the other hand were wide awake.

“Soo….” Maria questioned, after a pause in the conversation. “What happened with Max last night?”

Liz immediately blushed, but still tried to worm her way out the conversation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Maria.”

“Oh, so I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night and you weren’t in bed?”

“I went down to the kitchen for some water.”

“With a side of Max?” Maria asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You can’t hold out on me Liz. I went passed his room and it was empty too.”

“You didn’t!”

“I sure did. Now tell me what happened.”

“Nothing. Kyle made us sandwiches.”

“Kyle?” Maria asked, raising her right eyebrow. “What was he doing there?”

Without meaning to, Liz blurted out, “Interrupting.”

Maria merely responded with a smirk, waiting for Liz to continue.

“Okay, so I kissed him.”

Maria squealed loudly. “I knew it. But what’s going on with you two? You’re acting all jumpy.”

Liz quickly explained how Kyle interrupted and her conflicting feelings.

“You’re being irrational. Max likes you, and you like him. That’s it,” Maria said.

“That’s enough talk about me. Have you thought of any venues for your reception?” Liz quickly deflected talk about Max back on to Maria.

They spent the rest of their flight discussing the intricacies of Maria’s wedding.






The next day Isabel was shopping at the mall with two of her friends when she spotted a familiar brunette headed her way.

She tried to remember his name, but could only remember his high school nickname. ‘Not that it matters,’ Isabel thought. He knew who she was. Everyone did. He probably spent his time in high school pining over her, like the rest of the male population bar Max.

Annoyed that he would come up and talk to her, Isabel was shocked when Alex merely glanced at her and kept on walking.

Isabel frowned slightly.

“What’s wrong?” her friend Jessica asked, noticing her lack of participation in their conversation and her expression.

“Nothing,” she replied.

“Look at that pink dress,” she said pointing at a boutique two stores down. “Now that’s a keeper,” Isabel stated trying to change the subject.

She dragged her shopping counterparts along where she proceeded to purchase the dress to add to her vast collection.

However, the thoughts remained focused on one particular brunette.

Isabel couldn’t believe him. She was wearing her favourite Gucci dress and was groomed to perfection, as always. She knew that she had the attention of the most of the opposite sex surrounding her at any given time.

Except him; he’d just ignored her. Walked straight past. Her charms never seemed to work on him. She still remembered the way that he yelled at her when she went over to Maria’s for dinner. A guy had never spoken to her in that way before, not even Max when he was angry. She usually had men eating out of the palm of her hand.

But it was more than that. Isabel always felt unnerved whenever he would look at her. He never seemed to look at her. Always focusing just past her or was that right through her?

[cassie]

AN: I'm back and its not quite a month yet! Just to let you all know the next part is complete too, but I'll post it when I get back from my overseas vacation in 3-4 weeks. A big thanks to all those reading and leaving feedback and to Steph, as always.
begonia: Alex is not falling for Izzy's charms at all. You are very right - they are both very shy and moving at a very slow pace. Thanks!
destinyc: It's so funny that you used those exact words - I changed the prologue of this fic and posted it as a short one piece at RH called Blossoming Romance! Although the meeting with parents couldn't solve all their issues, it is a step in the right direction for all involved.
Alien_Friend: Thanks. Its a bit of an impasse, but at least they managed to clear the air somewhat.
Natalie: Thanks
Ginger: Thanks a heap.
Guel: How have you been? Thanks, Kyle has terrible timing. It's an awkward time for Liz to start a relationship, and both Max and her are plagued with insecurities. I agree about I/A. Alex doesn't fawn over her in this fic, at least not yet

Chapter 16

It had been two days since they got back from Roswell and Max still hadn’t heard anything from Liz.

He didn’t want to be the one to make the first move. He was too anxious about her reception.

His feelings for Liz were unlike any that he had experienced before.

Even though he hadn’t been involved in many relationships in the past, he knew that this was something special.

He didn’t know if he could handle it if she blew him off.

Max knew he was being completely unreasonable. Liz was pregnant, and not exactly in the right place to start a new relationship but it just felt right to Max.

In addition to all his concerns about Liz, Max was also worried about the fallout from all of her friends.

In the short time that he’d been back in contact with Maria, she’d made him feel like part of her family.

For the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged with Michael, Maria, Alex and Liz. Even with Kyle.

He didn’t have to try and pretend to be who they wanted him to be. They liked him as he was.

So he tried to keep himself busy at work, trying not to reminisce about the kiss he shared with Liz, but it was difficult.

Luckily for him Michael called, and he was going over tonight to watch a movie.

‘Only four hours to go,’ he thought while staring at his watch.

After what felt like years, all his patients had left and he was free. After quickly changing, he sped all the way to their place, nervous about seeing Liz.

Alex answered the door and quickly pulled him in to the house. Maria and Michael were in the middle of a big argument about what movie they were going to watch.

“Michael wants to see ‘The Hangover’ but Maria wants to watch the new Transformers flick,” Alex said.

“Really?” Max asked, surprised that she wanted to see it.

“Yeah, but only cos she likes that Shia guy.”

Michael didn’t want his fiancée spending the entire movie drooling over the lead character.

Max watched in confusion as they yelled at each other, talking so fast and on top of each other he could barely understand what they were saying.

“Let’s go,” Michael said after a pause, finally noticing Max’s presence.

“Where’s Liz?” Max asked.

“Liz,” Maria hollered down the hall.

Liz emerged a few moments later, offering Max a shy smile.

“So what are we seeing?” she asked.

“The Proposal,” Michael replied while giving Maria a hug. He leant down to kiss the top of Maria’s head.

She beamed up at him with a big smile on her face.

Liz noticed Max’s surprised expression. “Don’t worry, that’s normal for them,” she said.

Max didn’t know how they could go from one extreme to another so fast.

He couldn’t believe that they were going to see a chick flick, but Maria and Liz looked pretty happy, so he went along with it.

He didn’t end up sitting next to Liz, and he anxiously awaited the end of the movie so that he could actually talk to her.

They grabbed some Chinese food before going back to the Parker-Guerin house for dinner.

“This is really yum,” Alex said taking a large bite of his noodle dish. "That place was really nice. We should go there more often."

Everyone agreed.

“Did you see those couches at the back of the place?” Max asked. “They looked really comfy.”

“Just like the new ones at the Crash,” Maria replied.

Michael instantly stiffened and the friendly atmosphere disappeared.

“Wha? When?” Michael sputtered glaring at Maria.

Liz decided to speak up.

“Well, I may have gone past the Crash while we were down in Roswell.”

“And when exactly were you two planning on telling me about this?”

When neither Liz nor Maria responded straight away, Michael’s anger grew considerably.

“And whose brilliant idea was this?”

Liz glanced at Max quickly and Michael followed her line of sight.

“What the hell!”

He stormed past them into his room. A minute later he flew out of the house, in running gear.

They were glad nobody but the pavement was bearing the brunt of his anger.

“I’m so sorry,” Max said beginning to apologise.

“Oh. No. You couldn’t have known we hadn’t told him.”

“Michael’s a little bit sensitive about the issue,” Maria said.

“A little?” Alex scoffed.

The atmosphere remained a bit tense, even after Michael’s departure so Max made his escape fairly quickly.

Michael didn’t return for quite a while. And when he did he went straight in to his bedroom.

“Guess I’ll be sleeping on the couch,” Alex lamented.

“Don’t be silly,” Liz said. “You can sleep with me.”

“No. I know how hard it is for you to get comfortable now. I’m fine with the couch.”

They all went to bed pretty early.

Liz awoke the next morning to slight rustling.

She saw Michael, looking at something on her bedside table.

He was looking at a family picture taken when they visited Disney World over 15 years ago.

“How come you didn’t tell me?” Michael asked, letting his vulnerability show.

“Michael,” she said softly. She sat up, wriggling towards the edge of the bed, trying to get closer to him.

She leaned against his body. “It’s not like we were hiding something from you,” she said.

“That’s what it looks like.”

“I know. But my visit wasn’t planned. At all.”

“So why did you go to see them?”

“It was actually because of Max.”

Michael grunted, but Liz chose to ignore him and continue to explain.

“He just made me realise how much I miss them. Don’t you?”

Michael just grunted again. “What did they say?”

“They want me to move back.”

“What?” And you’re going to?” Michael asked angrily.

“No. Of course not.”

After a couple of minutes of silence Michael said, “I know that I may fly off the handle occasionally.”

Liz laughed out loud.

“Okay, a lot, but I don’t want you to ever think you need to hide something from me.”

“I know, but you were just so angry at them. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“I was angry on your behalf kiddo.”

“I didn’t want you to leave us again,” she said with a tear escaping her eyes.

“Never,” Michael proclaimed solemnly.

“Thanks Michael,” she said. “So we’re okay?”

“We’re okay,” he replied, ruffling her hair slightly.

She mussed up his hair in return.

“Hey, watch the hair!”

[cassie]

AN: I'm back in cold Melbourne. Anyway, here's the next part. It's one of my favourites. Thanks heaps to Steph and everyone for reading and leaving such great feedback!
destinyc: Max's progress is so slow, its barely measurable. Liz is 7 months along now.
mary mary: Thanks
begonia: Lol. Maybe not a grandmother, but a mother. He is a bit slow.
keepsmiling: Thanks

Chapter 17

Liz arrived home quite late one evening after dinner with work colleagues to an empty house. She was a bit confused as she could see both Kyle and Max’s cars around the front.

Figuring they all went somewhere together she headed towards her bedroom.

She was not expecting to see the light on. She could hear muffled giggles, so she tried to walk softly as she approached her room.

She cautiously opened the door. Liz definitely wasn’t expecting to see anything close to the sight in front of her.

Max and Kyle were huddled over her dresser, rummaging around. Liz turned beet red when she Kyle lift up a lacy bra and try to cover his breasts with it.

Max was fingering some lace panties trying not to fall over from laughing so hard at Kyle.

She pushed the door open even further trying to figure out what they were doing.

She couldn’t fathom any possible reason for them to be searching her underwear drawer.

The door squeaked slightly as she pushed it even further and Max turned to face her without any guilt at all.

He nudged Kyle. “Hey, look. Liz’s here.”

“Great!” Kyle responded.

“Can I have this?” he asked still fingering her bra.

“What?” Liz asked, moving towards him.

Kyle caught sight of her stomach and gasped in shock.

“Liz your stomach is all swollen.”

“I know,” she responded.

“It’s not swollen. She’s pregnant,” Max said.

Kyle continued to stare at her stomach, his eyes wide.

“I would know. I’m a doctor,” Max proclaimed proudly.

When Kyle came up to caress her stomach and she smelt his breath, Liz realised the reason behind their strange behaviour.

“No,” Kyle said, still not believing Max.

“You need to have sex to be pregnant, and Liz is a good girl.”

“It must have been immac.... an immaculate,” Max answered.

“Immaculate conception?” Liz spoke up.

“That’s it,” Max said, pumping his fist in victory.

Liz could not believe how she ended up in this surreal situation discussing her sex life with these two.

If it was possible she turned even redder. Of all the ways that she thought she may discuss sex with Max, Kyle was never present.

All of a sudden, Kyle left the room without saying anything.

She couldn’t help but laugh at Max’s confused expression as he looked at the door.

“Don’t laugh at me,” he said indignantly.

“Why not?” Liz asked.

“If you don’t, I'll tell you a secret.”

“Okay,” Liz said, playing along.

He leant over, glancing around the room to make sure that no one would overhear and softly whispered in her ear, “We’re drunk.”

Liz chuckled.

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”

“That’s okay,” Liz said giving him a wink. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Maria was soo mad....”

Before Liz could find out anything else there was a huge crash from the living room.

Liz sighed heavily, before going to check out the damage.

Kyle was haphazardly trying to pick up all the DVDs he’d scattered around the living room.

At least that’s what Liz thought he was doing. Kyle was walking around kicking the DVDs.

Liz couldn’t bend down to pick them up comfortably.

All of a sudden Kyle mistimed his kick, and landed flat on his back.

Max almost fell over laughing so hard.

Rather than having Max and Kyle cause any more damage to the house, Liz managed to convince Max to half coax half drag Kyle into bed.

Almost half an hour later Kyle was sprawled out, snoring away on Michael’s bed.

Michael was unlikely to be requiring it. Liz could hear his and Maria’s enthusiastic lovemaking very clearly through the walls.

Trying to get Max to go to sleep proved to be more difficult.

He refused to even sit on her bed without her.

“Stay with me,” he begged, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

He patted the bed next to him.

“Come on. Pleaassee..” he whined.

Liz’s patience was all used up, and she was really tired. So rather than disagreeing, she quickly threw on a loose nightgown and joined him.

It wasn’t very long before she was drifting off to sleep...



Liz woke up in the middle of the night, as her unborn child pressed down on her bladder.

It took her a while to remember why there was someone else in her bed.

She quickly went to the bathroom to relieve the pressure.

When she came back, she couldn’t help but watch Max.

He looked so peaceful in slumber.

She couldn’t be bothered trying to work out if Alex was occupying the couch, and decided to just continue sleeping in her bed.

She snuggled back under the covers delighting in the warmth that Max provided.



The bright sunlight woke Max up later that morning.

His head was pounding, and he had no idea where he was.

Most of the previous evenings activated were pretty fuzzy. He definitely remembered going to watch a hockey game with Michael and Kyle at a bar.

He was still on Michael’s bad side, and was trying to get back into his good graces.

But he had no explanation for why he woke up spooning Liz, with his hands splayed across her stomach.

“Morning,” someone said.

It was too soft to penetrate the noise in his head.

He tried to lift his head slowly to locate the person behind the noise.

Alex was standing at the foot of the bed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Max groaned and his head flopped back on to his pillow.

[cassie]

Just so you know I'm currently fixing up my thesis and will hopefully submit in a few weeks. Until then no updates, but afterwards I'll have lots more time and will finish this fic!