Where Once Stood Kings (Mature, Max) (Complete)

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DMartinez
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Part 38

Post by DMartinez »

Part 38 – July 31, 2004

The phone startled them both from sleep. Max reached for the receiver with one hand and wiped the sleep from his eyes with the other. Before he put the receiver to his ear, he checked his watch. 5:30 A.M. EST. "I know." He sighed into the phone wearily. "Michael told us last night. He's very much the proud father to be."

"Good for nothing shit is what he is." Kal bit out. It was 2:30 A.M. in L.A., meaning that he had just cleared everyone out of his house so he could make the call.

"He's happy." Max shrugged and relaxed into Liz's warm embrace once more. She shifted and settled against him, shutting her eyes completely when she felt he wasn't going anywhere.

"So."

"With Michael, it's a good thing." He offered weakly in Michael's defense. "This will stop him from running around and giving you headaches. This way… you'll always know where he is… What'd you find on her?"

"Kathryn Murphy, age 32, widowed. Son Damien, age 10. Daughter Anna, age seven." Zan's voice reached Max's ears. "Bryan Murphy, deceased, NYPD-IA."

"You're up early." Max commented wryly as he absorbed the information.

"This's a situation." Zan sighed heavily on his end of the three-way conversation. "But I wit you, Max. This'll keep Mikey outta trouble."

"Anything else on her?"

"Middle a'her class at some c'munity college but she aced her exams and got her clinicals done b'fore she married and knocked up at… 21. She good at what she do and don't take no shit from patients or doctors." Zan sounded as if he were reading off a paper, which he probably was. If Max bothered to get up, he'd probably find a similar document waiting on the fax machine in the next room. "Only thing on her is the dead guy."

"So?" Max felt like falling asleep again so he focused his attention on Liz's sleeping face.

"So… he was IA and died in a shootout." Zan clarified.

"The circumstances were suspicious, kid." Kal actually sounded sorry to be confirming the facts. "Another IA officer was brought in on the case but it's still open. Like any good IA officer, Bryan Murphy made a lot of enemies on the job. Hard to say who did him in… sources tell me someone's keeping tabs on Michael's girl. I'll handle it but I'd steer clear of him and her for awhile… both of you."

"What?" Max rubbed his forehead.

"Tabloids got a bit on us." Zan answered. "S'a piece'a shit but they gon run it an' it ain't gon make you look good."


August 15, 2004

The house was quiet when Max made it in. The rain pelted the house in the mid-morning. Max found Tess sitting very still on the window seat, staring out at the rain… with a very grown up Drew Lazcano asleep with his head in her lap. "Hey, sweetie, what's going on?"

Her head turned with a slowness that he had never seen before and in her eyes laid enough hurt to make him want to cry. She tried to smile but Max could see her heart wasn't in it. "Hi Max."

Setting his keys on the table, he nodded to the snoring Drew. "I hadn't seen him in a long time."

"He's been busy. Drew got into Yale." She whispered but that wasn't the whole story. "I don't want to go to Cambridge, Max."

"It's not set yet." Max tried to reassure her but she looked so sad. "There are still things I have to do before it even becomes a possibility. It might take a long time."

"I hope it takes forever." She turned her head back to the window.

"Were you up all night?"

The only answer he received was a slow nod.

--

Max accompanied Drew in the car back to his house. "How old are you now?"

"Just turned 18." Drew nodded.

"You been working out or something?" Max idly read over some instructions for a shoot he was supposed to coordinate for Kal.

"Made some friends when I scoped out the school. We hang out and play basketball sometimes." The young man stared out the window. "It's nice sometimes to have some guys to do guy things with, you know?"

"Yeah."

"They're all jerks, of course but I have fun… We go out… to clubs."

"Bet the ladies like that mustache you've got there."

"Yeah." Drew blushed. "My girlfriend loves it."

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Met her through those jerks I hang out with. She… doesn't understand why I hang out with Tess." He sighed heavily and stared out the window. "I told Tess about her last night and she got upset. Georgia doesn't like me hanging out with Tess but I can't just… stop hanging out with her. I told her that. I told Tess that… but they're both mad at me."

"Tess isn't mad at you."

"Yes… she is." Drew insisted. "She… she's jealous." His house loomed over them but he made no move to get out of the car. "I'm… I love Georgia but I can't just… abandon Tess. She's been a good friend to me since I met her… I'm the only real friend she's got… and I wouldn't be a good friend if I ditched her for a girl."

"But you love Georgia."

"If she loves me, don't you think she'd understand? I mean, I've… I didn't really try to explain Tess but she doesn't need me explaining for her to people she doesn't know."

"No." Max nodded in agreement.

"I'm… when schools starts, I'm not going to be able to come up to the house as often as I'd like. Is Tess going to understand that?"

"She understands."

"She didn't about Georgia."

"Tess is possessive. You know that. I'll see you around."


September 4, 2004

Max watched in wonder as Kathryn managed to play with her children around her swollen middle in his backyard. Tess watched excitedly but was still too shy to play with them. Michael hadn't taken his eyes off his wife all day. "How's she dealing?"

"Good, I think." Michael nodded. "We… didn't tell the kids, of course but Damien's a smart kid. He knows there's something up."

"He likes you?"

"Yeah but he's his father's son. He sat me down and had a talk with me, man to man." Michael laughed and shook his head, recalling the strange conversation. "He threatened my life if I broke his mother's heart. He told me that he was going to call me Michael and I was never to call him my son. Step-son is okay, though."

"Wow." Max shook his head slowly. "If that's what he does when he likes you, I hope you never get on his bad side."

"He's been the man of the house since he was six… he's not going to hand the title over so quick. Anna… she's shy but she calls me Dad when Damien can't hear her. I read her stories at night and she always wants a kiss before bed." Michael tore his eyes away for just a second. "It feels good… to be needed and wanted."

"Well you're not chopped liver, Michael. You've got people who need and want you in New York, Massachusetts and New Mexico." Max took a seat and grinned when Tess finally got the guts to play with the Murphy children. "How is she physically?"

"Great." Michael answered immediately and hung his head in embarrassment. "I mean… She seems to be coming along pretty okay. She hasn't popped open and she's not in any pain but… maybe I had something to do with that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm… not so great when it comes to controlling myself."

"Controlling yourself?"

"My… powers have nearly always been on the wink, you know?" Michael whispered, as if this were somehow more secret than anything they had been speaking of before. "It's how I knew Kathryn was the one. I've had sex before. I've had great sex before but when I made love to her, it was different. Something inside me knew and I opened… The day I realized I loved her, I took her out and we went to my place and that night… it happened. I opened and I could feel her, really feel her… and maybe since that night… I prepared her somehow for this… because I don't think she could possibly be alive or pregnant now if I hadn't opened myself to her."

"Huh." Max mulled it over and thought about something Zan had said to him before. "If it wudn't for the way we's wired."

"What?" Michael turned his head to look at Max. "Did you say something?"

"Thinking out loud."

Michael took a deep breath and his vision set on a place further out than his wife and stepchildren. "I'm the last person to be threatening you."

"What?"

"I'm serious. I’m the last person to demand anything of you or else, especially after the way I treated Liz…" He turned his head slowly to Max. "But you hurt her and this will be the last friendly conversation we have."

"Why is everyone acting like we're getting married?" Max blurted out.

"Because this time it's different. We all see it." Michael shook his head. "Isabel sees it, Jesse sees it… I see it. Hell, Maria sees it."

"How is the love of my life?" Max had to smile. When was the last time anyone had mentioned that hellfire?

"Peachy. That's beside the point. I ran into her when I went back to get my transcript requests. She knows that Liz is happy. She talks to her once in a blue moon and she knows. Those two, no matter how little they see each other, how big the fights they get into, they're going to be friends forever. Maria knows that Liz is happy. She just… doesn't know that it's you or else I’m sure she wouldn't be quite as happy."

"Does she still hate me?"

"No one holds a grudge like Maria DeLuca." Michael nodded and got to his feet. "You are planning to marry her, right?"

"When the time is right for both of us." Max nodded to himself. "That tabloid shit got her all pissed off and it's not true and she knows it but…"

"She's pissed."

"Well, not anymore but it'll happen again. Once she gets immune to it, maybe." Finally standing, he caught a gesture from the cook. "Let's eat everyone!"

--

Max caught Kathryn staring at the table in the kitchen when the door was left open. "Bodyguards." Their meal was a bit unusual as far as the history of the house went. Hot dogs for the kids, a burger for Michael, salads for Max, Tess and Kathryn, followed by a spinach lasagna that Tess had prepared herself. "I don't suppose you've ever seen Michael's."

Her eyes grew round and Michael glared at Max. "I don't like them."

"I've heard." Max shook his head. "They barely do more than stakeout anymore."

"Why does Michael need a bodyguard?" Kathryn interrupted them.

Michael glanced at the children and cleaned his hands on a cloth napkin. "That thing we talked about, babe. The uh… boss… thinks we'll get a heads-up if things go wrong if we have some protection. I don't like them. I tried to ditch them but they're getting paid so they have to at least look like they're doing their job."

"Is there a need for them?" She pressed.

"I say no but the boss says yes."

"Don't worry about a thing." Max assured her and glanced toward the children who were pretending they weren't listening. "If anything happens, you will be taken care of. Your husband is a decorated soldier."

"Like hell he is." Zan muttered as he entered the room and helped himself to an extra setting. "What the hell is this rabbit food? Dudn't sweetie cook the good stuff no more?"

"Watch your mouth." Tess ordered. "Today's special."

"Who's the hottie?" Zan winked at Kathryn.

"That's my mom." Damien ground out.

"Ooh. Sorry, kid. I was kiddin'." Zan held his hands up. "Heya Mikey, how's the ball-n-chain fit?"

"Like a glove." A comment which earned the newlywed a well aimed smack on the shoulder.

"She's got balls. I like her." Zan nodded to Max, who pinched the bridge of his nose in a vain effort to quell his headache.

"Kathryn Murphy-Evans… I'd… well, I'd say I'd like you to meet him but no one ever likes introducing my brother, Emory." Max took a deep breath and suddenly felt like the game keeper of some tedious and exceedingly frustrating game.

"Zan." Zan corrected. "How come I wusn't invited to this family gatherin'?"

"Didn't you have a shoot today?" Max turned to look at his clone.

"Yeah, and it's over." He mumbled and immediately Max felt bad. Zan's self-esteem was just getting to normal levels and he was getting over that damned depression.

All of a sudden, the world became clear. Max stared at Zan and everything made sense. The EPIPHANY had occurred. Rising from his seat, Max stumbled out of the room and into the nearest bathroom to puke up his dinner and lunch.

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DMartinez
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Part 39A

Post by DMartinez »

Part 39 – December 24, 2004

Max stared in the window at them all. Zan was wrestling with Liz to keep her off the ladder. The poor angel in her hands threatened to fall several times as they fought. Tess plucked the angel from Liz's precarious hold and raced up the ladder to place it firmly on the tree's high tip. Michael ignored them all and never looked up from the bundle in his arms. His wife, a sleepy-eyed woman, sat in an armchair and watched them all with a weary smile that spoke of many late nights with her child. Anna and Damien aimed the small cans of snow-maker at the tree and giggled at the patterns they made. Isabel and Jesse were stuck beneath the mistletoe in a world of their own. Drew watched it all from a couch where his foot was propped on a footstool, cast decorated in many colors and names. Squinting, Max could make out a figure asleep on a far couch, a pile of blankets around her pink hair… Ava. They were all there, well, save Kal, and having a great time… in his house.

Suddenly Liz turned and peered at the window. The blood drained out of her face as she walked closer, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. Max, her mouth said though he couldn’t hear the word. Turning, he walked back into the woods surrounding the house. He'd been gone since early September and though he'd finished his classes and was set to walk across the stage in May, he had still to go home. Home, as if he had one. Maybe Michael had been right to go on his quest but Max still didn't feel as if anything were any clearer than the day when he looked at Zan and all the answers were there. He had just made it into the sanctuary of the trees when he really heard her voice.

"Max!" He turned but he was hidden by the thick trunks. The wind whipped snow around her body. She hadn't even bothered to put on a coat or a hat for the purpose of scanning the trees for him. "Max!" Everyone else, save for Kathryn and the baby, waited just inside the door, bracing themselves against the cold but not Liz. She walked further, staring into the trees. "Max!" A sweater, with maybe an undershirt beneath, jeans… maybe, hopefully, thermals underneath and a pair of Ked's. "Max!"

"Liz, come inside." Isabel pleaded. "You'll catch your death."

Instead, the brunette stepped further out into the cold, wild brown eyes scanning the trees for her prey. "Max!"

"Sweetness, come in. He ain't out there no more." Zan told her softly. He knew Max was out there. He knew.

"Max!" The tears streamed down her face and Max's heart, if he had one, broke. Stepping out of the trees, he heard her gasp. "Max."

"You better listen to them. You'll catch pneumonia if you stay out here much longer." He told her softly. They were maybe five feet apart. A couple of more steps and he could reach out and touch her. "Go inside, Liz."

"Not unless you come in with me. We've been worried sick about you." The tears froze on her face. One step forward. "Come inside and I'll go with you."

"Just… go inside, Liz. I don't want you to get sick or anything. If you get sick, you'll get the baby sick and I'll feel like it's my fault."

"It will be." She stepped forward again. "Come inside with us. It's Christmas Eve, Max. We all love you and want you to come inside."

"No." He shook his head and started to walk away but Liz charged him and knocked him to the ground, sending both of them into a high snowbank. Rolling over beneath her, he shook his head and snow fell on his face. Placing his hands on her face, he warmed her skin so she wouldn't be so cold. "Go inside, Liz."

"I'm not getting up until you agree to come inside and spend Christmas with us." Studying his gaunt face, tears sprang anew to her eyes. "Where have you been? Why did you go?" He didn't answer her. "Reporters showed up after a couple of days because they thought we had eloped. When you never showed up…. I got worried. Kal's been sniffing around because you've got three more movies to shoot. Max, why did you go?"

"I'm poison."

"What?" She sat up. "Max."

"I healed Tess and look at her. She's barely more than a child in a woman's body. I healed Zan and he's like a big spoiled brat. I ruined you. I can't infect everyone with my poison. I had to get away from all of you."

"Ruined me, Max?" This time she put her hands on his face. "How did you ruin me, Max?"

"I should have never gone to Roswell again."

"To Isabel's wedding?"

"No, the time I met you. I should have just turned around and gone home when Kal called me."

"Don't say that."

"I should have just turned around and gone home and you'd be up in Cambridge with some great scientist guy ready to marry you. Maybe Zan would have his family with him today instead of this Raggedy Andy patched up one that I've created for him."

"Max!" She slapped him hard. "Listen to me. I would never take back one day of pain if it meant all of the wonderful friendships I've gotten out of the deal. Michael and I are okay. Zan and I couldn’t be better. Hell, even Isabel and I are getting along and if you come inside and talk to Tess, you'll find out that she's not half the girl she used to be." She caressed the spot she slapped. "She got the dreams, Max."

Max started crying, that was the last and final straw. "God, no."

"She knows now. She knows the truth and it's brought her out of the cage she's been trapped in for so long, Max. You should come in and see her, she's so wonderful. She's dating Drew and they're so happy and if it weren't for you, she'd never have met him. Come inside, Max." She kissed his lips lightly. "I love you, Max. Come inside." The next kiss had more fire and Max couldn't help but kiss back. He had been so lost without her. "Max." She mumbled against his lips. "Please come inside." Pressing her lips firmly against his, she gave him no other choice and suddenly they were both overcome with the presence of the other. Pulling away, she gasped. "What was that?"

"One hell of a kiss." Max kept his eyes closed against all the emotions he was sure to see in her face and more afraid of the ones etched on his.

"Okay, that's enough." Michael picked up Liz and threw her over his shoulder.

"You two are coming inside, like it or not." Jesse commanded and yanked Max onto his feet. "I don't care what you say. Aliens or not… you're both going to get sicker than I ever thought possible. No fighting when we get inside. My mother is taking a nap."

--

Despite all protests, Zan was the one who got to talk to Max first. He locked them both inside the small dining room and watched Max sip tea for nigh on half an hour before speaking. "That was a dumb @#%$ thing you did."

"I know." Max nodded.

"You cain't just take off when you want."

"You did."

"But I ain't the glue that hold this shit together."

"Why should I be the glue?"

"Glue don't get to choose what it is, bro." Zan sighed and stood. The window showed them that the storm was still brewing up something big to slam them with the next day. "Lot of @#%$ gone down since you split. What's it been?"

"Four months, two weeks." Max answered solemnly… and accurately. " Eight days, thirteen hours and fifty-seven minutes."

"Tess… she got them dreams fin'ly. She's upset for days, screamin' for me to take 'em outta her head. I don't know what to do… I tell her, 'Tessie, just go to sleep. Let 'em come. You feel betta afterwards.' And she did. She listened to me. I sat nexta her bed all night and in the mornin', she wake up and she look at me and she ain't the same. She still Tess, ain't no doubt 'bout it but she's more Tess now than eva." Zan smiled at the storm. "She's gotta ways to go but she's come 'bout halfway. Ev'rybody that look her in the eyes knows she knows now."

"Is she really?"

"Damn straight." Zan sat at the table once more and looked his hands over. "Ava come crawlin' back 'bout a week or so ago. We ain't so good for each otha, you know? All we do is make each otha feel bad. Still, I like havin' the girl 'round. We been stayin' here since school let out."

"That's good."

"Yeah, um… Jesse hadda tell his mom. She been sick and afta they moved uptown, they had room. Wit them plannin' the baby and all that, they hadda tell her. She… she tried to bless Jesse with some old sayin' to cure him from Isabel's curses. Afta month or two, she got the point. They in love and Isabel ain't no evil witch sent from outta space to send her baby-boy to hell." Zan laughed to himself. "Mikey and Kathryn been on cloud nine. The baby came 'round Thanksgivin' and you'll never guess who the mid-wife was." He looked up to catch Max's confused face. "Kal delivered the baby right in this room. The kiddies still don't know nothin' but they love that little girl just like they mom."

"A girl?"

"Yeah, they named her Gracey. She's pretty, must git it from her moms."

"And you?"

"You left me wit a lot on my plate, son." Zan took a deep breath. "Took me a while to deal when I figured you ain't comin' back. Ev'rybody's runnin' to me wit they shit and I feel like my head's gon explode ev'ry five minutes. I wanted to take off, too. Then Liz shows up, she's got red eyes and I know she been cryin'. I let her stay up in your room and then she comes down just bawlin'. She found that rock you bought her sittin' on the dresser. I couldn't just leave her like that. So, I stayed and I startin' thinkin'."

"Did you hurt yourself?" Max couldn't help but let the barb slip out.

"Almost but not quite." Zan went on with barely a smile of appreciation for Max's wit. "You got it all but… you don't think you got it all, doya?" Max's head lowered. "See, we all put this pressure on you to be our leader cuz you got the house and the money and the connections but you ain't it. You ain't the guy." He leaned on his arms to look at Max. "I ain't sayin' you ain't the real king 'tween the two of us but you ain't the guy because you ain't got no one to listen to your shit. All of us take our shit to you but who you take your shit to? Nobody."

"That's not why I left."

"Oh I heard you tell Liz why you left and that's shit. It was just your turn to snap, that's all. I dun it, Mikey's dun it. Isabel dun it, Ava dun… hell, even Tess and Liz dun it. It was just your turn." Zan pointed to the next room. "None of us expected to see you today. We was just gon party cuz we could and nobody wanted Tess to be alone, especially since she and Drew been connected at the hands, which is betta than the lips or hips, you know, but still."

"Is she really okay?"

"Miffed that you took off but she been betta, she knows betta now." Zan pointed to the next room once more. "You goin' in?"

"I want to talk to Liz first."

--

Liz held herself as she faced him, made small by the huge blanket over her shoulders. She refused to sit though he knew she'd be warmer if she could let her heat build under the blanket. He had said he wanted to talk to her before facing everyone but now that he had her right in front of her, he couldn't think of a thing to say. "You're an asshole." He nodded and kept his eyes on the floor. "We were all worried sick and you just pop up like nothing."

"Not like nothing." He interjected. "I didn't count on you seeing me. I was just checking in to make sure you guys were all good."

"We're not all good, Max." Tears sprung to her eyes once more. "How is it supposed to make me feel when we're finally talking, really talking, to each other and we've having this really good thing when you just up and leave? I thought it was something I did. Maybe I read too much into the situation and then, I come here and I find this." She yanked the small box from her pocket. "Then I'm thinking… oh my god, the alien enemies have come and wiped you off the face of the Earth and I'm never going to see you again. Then Kal shows up and he wants to know where you are, you're late for an audition. But if Kal doesn't think you're dead, then you've just run off without a word to anyone, you asshole." Dropping the blanket, she paced the room in front of him like an angry general. "We're all hurt. You were supposed to be there for us, for all of us. Michael didn't know what he was doing. If it weren't for Kal's DNA, he would have let the baby die."

"What?" Max's eyes snapped up. "What are you talking about? Zan said it was all fine."

"Zan wasn't in the room, I was. The baby was breach. I'm not a doctor though. I didn't know what to do. Kal waltzes in here, glares at Michael and shuts the door. I could hear him mumbling about coded DNA and damn alien hybrids." She punched his chest as hard as she could. "Tess's dreams, God. Max, you should have been here. She needed you. Zan just didn't know what to do. When he and Ava had the dreams, they just jumped into the sack and they grew to hate each other."

"He told you that?"

"Yes, because he didn't have anyone else to talk to and I wasn't his first choice of a sympathetic ear. Jesse and Isabel were really upset when his mother got sick and they needed someone to tell them it was alright to tell her and you weren't here and no one else felt they had the authority to let the woman in and I know if you were the one to tell her she wouldn't have thought Isabel was a witch." Liz sobbed into her hand. "I needed you, Max. I really needed you and you weren't here." She looked up and stared at him. "If anyone ruined me, Max, it was me. If you're talking about me and Michael or Darrel or Sam or George, it was all me. I did that to me. That was not you." When he didn't say anything, she sank into a chair. "You're not leaving this room until you promise that you're staying… and maybe promise to go shave."

Max touched his cheek and rubbed the gravel there. "Hope it didn't hurt your hand when you slapped me."

"Well, you can fix it… after you go clean up and join us downstairs for some carols and some fabulous eggnog that Tess made. It's only got a touch of rum… She calculated taste and the effects on aliens if you can believe that." The smile was genuine if pained and Max loved her all the more for it. "What?" She blinked at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This was your out, you know. You could have just said goodbye to all this crap but you stayed and you're giving me advice, forgiving me for being an ass."

"I never said I'd forgive you."

"You already did."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I did? Why didn't I let myself in on that one?"

Max stared up at her. "I love you. I do."

"Let's get out there while it's still the eve before Christmas." She gripped his hand. "You've got to make sure I don't have pneumonia and you have to fix the scrape on my hand from that gravel you call a beard and we're opening presents."

"You guys got me something?" Max felt the sting of tears in his eyes.

"You bothered to get us something. See those presents under the tree that came by mail to our houses that we brought to put under this tree, mister, so we got you something even though no one expected to see you this year. Or this millennium. You were doing a good job of estranging yourself from your family and that's not going to happen again. Not over my body, dead or alive."

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Part 39B

Post by DMartinez »

Part 39B – December 24, 2004/December 25, 2004

Max held Liz against his body and watched them all. Ava ripped a brightly wrapped box from Zan's hands and placed it carefully beneath the tree. She spat out a few choice words and was reprimanded by Mrs. Ramirez who had most of them gathered for a midnight mass. Apparently the woman had converted her daughter-in-law to Catholicism and the trio had their rosaries in hand as they prayed, two in English and one in Spanish.

It was a wonderment to him. He had heard plenty about the woman from sporatic conversations with Jesse and late talks with Isabel. Elena Teresa Ramirez de Gonzales had seen her share of hardships. Orphaned early on, married early, lost her husband much too soon and raised her son alone… and then to have him marry an alien princess. The woman had been through so much but still there she sat and prayed on Christmas Eve. Max was impressed by the woman and her faith.

Turning to Tess, he found that she was listening raptly. Her hands were clasped in Drew's, who was also praying though he had no beads and apparently no need of them. Prayers. Hope. Faith. A lot of that going around.

Though he and Zan didn't believe, they were respectful of everyone else and kept their piece until well after midnight when the rosary was completed. Ava had fallen asleep with the biggest blanket Max had ever seen. Of course, no one paid one second more attention to Max and went about the Christmas ritual. Jesse placed a small box in his mother's hands and kissed her cheek. Then he produced another small box for his wife, who was hiding one of her own. They sat beneath the tree to whisper and examine their gifts. Drew kissed Tess's cheek and went to bed early. The Murphy children were allowed one gift and sent to bed. The Guerins followed soon after. Zan stared at the tree as if assessing its molecular structure, committing it to memory.

It was a while before Tess manuervred her way between Max and Liz with a present for Max. It was a long, wide but thin box. "This is for my brother, Max." Max wanted to cry. Not just because of the present but that voice. That sultry, normal, voice that spoke volumes of who this girl was that had been his sister so long trapped in her own mind. "Open it, Max."

The package was wrapped so perfectly and so Max took his time and broke the taped seals before flipping the paper off in one sheet. Opening the box, he found a notebook. Opening the book, he found a table of contents. Then as he flipped the pages, there were pictures he'd taken across from each sheet of music. All the titles of all the songs were in Latin with English translations beneath, flipping back to the cover page, he read the title. "Songs God Taught Me. Composed and Arranged by Tess Harding. Pictures by Max Evans, her lost brother."

"I spent two months putting it together, Max. I know you were trying to do it for me but you didn't know how. So I did it myself and I give it to you." She kissed his tear-streaked face. "I'm going to bed now but I wanted you to open this present first."

"You are my first present." Max kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I went away when you needed me." She hugged him and hurried off to bed. He watched her move with a grace he had never seen in her before. She walked like a queen. "I don't understand."

"What?" Liz whispered.

"Today. Why is today so special?" Max whispered. "What is the magic of today that I just can't see?" He sighed heavily and looked at the notebook in his hands. "No, don't answer me. I don't want to end tonight with a big theological debate."

"I don't know, Max. Today is pretty special. You came back to us." Liz kissed his lips softly. "We've got everyone here."

"Why didn't you go home?" Max stroked her face.

"I wanted to be here in case you came back. Believe me, I got into a huge fight with my parents about it." Her fingers slid into his hair and massaged his scalp. "I've got all I need here. I'm not letting you out of my sight until I have to go back to school and only after I'm certain you'll be here when I call."

"No running away." Max agreed.

"Good."

"Jesse." Elena wearily called to her son. "Help your mother to bed." Max watched as she leaned on her son to get to her feet. He knew just looking at her that she was in pain because her bones were brittle and her muscles were weakening. He knew that Jesse could just scoop up his slight mother and carry her to bed like a child but she wanted to walk to bed and he was just there to make sure she got there. When they were out of the room, Isabel crossed to sit with Max and Liz. "Can you help her?"

It pained Max to shake his head but it was the truth. "It's nature's path."

"We're just getting along, Max." Isabel bowed her head. "I'm afraid that she'll never get to meet her grandchildren… and she's very excited about it."

"If I even make her more comfortable. She'd have to want it." Max told her.

"She don't." Zan spoke up. "Don't you think I'd'a done somethin' a'ready, Princess?"

"Cin you guys keep it down? I tryin' ta git some sleep." Ava muttered.

"C'mon." Zan rose and lifted her into his arms. "'Night."

When the duo had left the room, Max turned to the ladies. "How long has that been going on?"

"It's not, I don't think." Isabel stared after them. "I mean, he called me when she showed up and he was… nervous, I guess but the next time I saw him they were friendly but I don't think that when they go to bed that they do anything more than sleep."

Liz agreed. "They slept next to each other from the time they hatched until right after you met them… Zan's been acting weird lately. Quiet."

"Zan's always quiet." Max shook his head.

"Quieter."

"He's been nice to Jesse." Isabel pointed out.

"Who's been nice to me?" Jesse rejoined them wearing his newly engraved watch from his wife. "Not old king of the streets?"

"The very same."

"He doesn't seem any different to me."

"To me either, although afflicted by a mild case of maturity." Max shook his head. "You'll see, come New Year's… Zan will be his old self again."

"I don't know. He claims he's given up whoring." Liz nudged Max.

"Well, I'll believe that when it happens." Jesse pulled Isabel to her feet. "We're going to bed. Merry Christmas and good night."

"Merry Christmas. Good night." Max and Liz chorused after them. Liz sat still for a full minute. "So… what did you get me for Christmas?"

"A high-powered microscope?"

"You didn't." Liz immediately raced for the big box next to the tree.

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Part 40 – January 1, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 40 – January 1, 2005

"Who told Drew?" Max asked Zan as he watched the young boy help Tess with New Year's breakfast.

"He figured it out." Zan shrugged. "Maybe she told him, I don't know." He kept compulsively straightening the salt shaker, pepper shaker, sugar bowl, Tabasco bottle and syrup pitcher over and over. Zan probably didn't realize he was doing it but Max could even make out the different orders he put them in. Height, then weight, then volume, then potential volume, then circumference. By color, consistency, molecular density, reverse spectrum. Sweetness, spiciness, saltiness. "I been watchin' 'em. I gave him a talk, man to man."

Reaching out, Max removed the small glass containers from Zan's grasp and constant reorganization. "Drew's a good boy."

"Yeah, he is. Lil' shit don't wanna fuck 'er." Zan cursed to himself. "I mean, he do but he don't. He don't wanna screw up their friendship. I's not sure the boy's human."

Max had to smile at his sister, who looked completely happy in the kitchen. "You talked to her about going to school?"

"Talked to Kal 'bout it. It's suspicious." He shrugged a little too casually. "She don't wanna go anyways. I think she's scared still."

"She's got reason to be. People are always trying to take advantage of her." He sighed a little but smiled at her whenever she looked up from her pans.

"There you are, I thought you had run off again." Liz emerged freshly showered into the kitchen. She pulled a chair next to Max and kissed his lips softly. She had put the ring Max had bought her on her finger Christmas morning and stubbornly refused to take it off. Then she turned her eyes to Zan. "Hey handsome, how you feeling today?"

"I's all good sweetness." Zan shook his head at her with a wry smile. "I's not the one who let the bubbles go to her head last night."

"Tell this fuddy-duddy that the bubbles did not go to my head last night." Liz looked to Max, who only raised his eyebrows at her. "What? I was not goofy last night."

"Goofy would be putting it mildly. I'm not sure you should ever drink again." He told her sincerely. "I almost had to knock you out to get you to keep your clothes on."

"Did not." Liz smacked him and looked from duplicate to duplicate. "You guys are so full of it." They burst out laughing. "I'm a quiet drunk and you know it."

Max kissed her neck and drew her onto his lap, holding her left hand in his. He stared at the ring on her finger. "I hope you don't mind." He closed his hand over the ring and a soft glow emerged from the seams of his hand. Then he pulled a matching ring off her finger and resized it for his left hand. "I plan to marry you and I won't let you wear that engagement ring alone."

Zan scoffed and immediately looked ashamed when all eyes flew to his face. "I was just thinking… there goes my last buddy. All of ya'll got somebody but me and now I ain't got no one to go party wit."

"You always got me, lover-boy." Ava sat next to him. "Just don't cramp my style and don't get in the way."

"You ain't got style, woman. What you talkin' 'bout 'style'?"

"The hell I don't." When Tess slid a plate of pancakes in front of Zan, Ava grabbed his fork and started eating. "Ain't nobody gon look at that ugly mug of yours 'less they lookin' for me first… and that's the truth of it."

"Woman, eat your food and leave me alone." Zan shoved the plate in front of her and looked to Max. "You see, the woman drives me crazy. I can't stand her."

"Ditto, duke." Ava winked at them and poured some Tabasco sauce on her food. "Girl, Tessie, you rock. These the shit."

"Thanks." Tess smiled graciously and served Zan a new plate of pancakes with a pile of chocolate chunks on top, just for him. He kissed the back of her hand in appreciation. "Eat them before they get cold, my Zan."

"Tess, do you need help?" Liz started to get up but Max pulled her back down.

"No, we got this." Drew waved her off and poured a new round of batter onto the pan. Steam hissed up against his face as the skillet hotly met the cool batter.

"Isn't this sweet." Kal looked them all over from the backdoor. No one had heard him enter and no one really cared at the moment. "The Ramirezes and the rest of the Evanses?"

"Upstairs sleepin', I guess." Zan shrugged then hunched over his pancakes, eyes on a spot somewhere between his nose and the Tabasco sauce. "S'up?"

"Nothing very pressing, for once… now that his royal highness has decided to grace us with his presence." Kal glared at Max as he took his seat at the head of the table. "Tess, sweetheart, get your uncle something to drink."

"Lime or lemon?" She asked, placing her body in front of Drew's.

"Surprise me. This can wait until everyone is up and about." Kal made himself comfortable. "Don't mind me. Eat your breakfast." He sipped the cran-lemonade when Tess set it in front of him. He stared at her a moment. "I think the Murphy children will want to eat in the game room this morning, what do you think?"

"Okay." Tess nodded and began setting up a couple of trays. Drew finished serving the rest of them their plates. Isabel and Jesse walked in on the silence and served themselves from the pile of pancakes left by the stove. They were both fully dressed and never further than a foot from each other as they moved around the kitchen.

"Happy New Year everyone." Isabel offered them the cheery greeting and they grudgingly murmured the same back. She was determined to ignore Kal since he seemed to be the damper on her good mood. "So, we're leaving tomorrow. I have to get my schedule at work and then coordinate it with this semester's workload or else we'd stay longer."

"You workin' for Scarlett?" Zan picked up on her cue to continue the morning conversations, though his voice was half the volume it had been.

"Yes, actually." Isabel smiled broadly. "She's a wonderful woman. It's only part-time but she'll take me on full-time this summer if I still want it. It's just clerking for now but she says I won't stay in the back room long with my ambitions where they are. Before you know it, I'll be running her office." She poured herself some apple cider from a pitcher on the table and her smile became sly. "You know, there's a lovely young lady down there. They call her Brock but her name is Branda Ophelia Marak. Some clever person made up the nickname or something but that's beside the point. She's been waiting for your movie to come out ever since she saw a picture of you in Entertainment Weekly."

"Is that right?" Zan was barely paying attention to her by that point. His eyes met Kal's for a second but the shapeshifter just lifted his glass to his lips without any acknowledgement of their conversation.

"I told her I knew you and she nearly died. I could set you up. You're always complaining that I don’t do my duty by you knowing all the 'fine' women I do." Isabel teased him but he wasn't at the table anymore. His mind was elsewhere.

"What's this woman look like?" Ava stepped in when Zan didn't seem to be biting. "I'll tell you whether she's his type or not."

"Don't break her heart by promisin' to set us up if I ain't gon be there to meet her." Zan bit out under his breath but the table went silent at his words. Michael had joined them just to say he'd be taking Kathryn something but when Zan spoke, he took a seat. "Tell 'em, Kal. Get it over with."

"I guess everyone important is present. Any humans can feel free to leave the table." No one moved and Kal nodded to Zan. "While the horse I was backing ran off, the runner-up had to make a choice a while back. Go home and face the music or let the citizens of Earth die when the enemy came looking for King Zan. We've got two here, technically one to spare. Surprised the hell out of me when this one here decided to put himself on the line for the whole lot of you."

"They're coming for him?" Max looked with wide eyes to his dupe, who wouldn't look anyone in the eye.

"Not for a while yet, it'll take time to get a ship here for him but he's agreed to go back. He was just being petulant when he rudely turned down a date with your Brock, Princess. He'll be here but he won't be staying long enough to make a commitment. I told him to tell them to fuck off but you know how well this pair of kings behaves." Kal took a deep swallow of his cran-lemonade and studied their faces. "Oh, did you get attached to him?"

"I'll go with him." Ava immediately offered.

"No." Zan shook his head. "Just me. They think I'm all that's left and it's going to stay that way."

"Zan." Max pleaded with him but the king just shook his head. "Why?"

"I'll finish my contract with Kal for all the movies we talked about… plus the ones you were supposed to do… Then I pull a James Dean. Maybe I pull an Elvis while I'm at it. Don't matter."

"They'll kill you."

"And I'll kill some of 'em while they doin' that."

"They're lying, Zan. They'll ambush you the second you get on that ship." Max slammed his hand into the table. Silence permeated the room and heads whipped to the doorway but there was no one there. Michael helped Tess carry three trays of food out of the kitchen to prevent the children or Kathryn from walking in on the sensitive conversation.

"Doubtful. There are, of course, other complications." Kal crossed his arms and Zan sank back in his chair. "Where have I been these past few days, Zan?"

"Brooklyn?" Zan snapped too quickly.

"Guess again, your highness." When Zan didn't answer, Kal got up from his chair with his drink in hand. Michael and Tess reentered the room and took seats, not daring to ask what they missed but eager to get on with the drama. "It seems our Zan wasn't always as careful as he claimed to be." Kal turned to them as he took a seat on the window-seat. "Michael. What did I tell you when you told me about the impending birth?"

"How could I be so stupid? Why didn't I stop it? Couldn't I control anything about my alien side? That about covers it… oh and you told me a theory on how I might have done it that I believe to be mostly right." Michael answered in a heavy sigh. "Did I miss anything?"

"Max, there was a conversation you had with Zan a while back. A year ago in two days, in fact. What did Zan tell you about that subject?"

For a moment, Max had no clue what he was talking about. Then it came back to him. He had been thinking about it the day of his Epiphany. "Kal, you didn't tell me your theory on how we could propagate our species. Michael found out by accident and we just found out this fall. Zan… how did you know we weren't wired for normal procreation?"

Kal shrugged. "I could have written a better exposition scene but it'll have to do. The answer to that question lies in the eyes of a three-year-old child living in Queens. Exact copies of his father's eyes. You're good, your highness. I didn't know about the heir to the kingdom of Antar until you handed yourself over to the enemy. So I found the little bastard. He's in Pre-K but next semester he'll be attending the nearest private academy that I can buy him into."

"Zan?" Max turned to the man he'd felt was his brother from the moment they'd met in that sewer. He didn't see that in their sharing when he healed the dying king just three years before. What else was the man hiding?

"Alvaro Joaquin Acevedo." Zan answered them without anyone voicing the question. "I wasn't eva really sure he's mine."

"How could you not know?" Michael prompted, his face turning red with barely contained anger. "How is it possible that you didn't know?"

"I just didn't. She… wasn't like the others and… by the time I knew for sure, it was too late to be there." Zan lowered his head. "They call him Aja."

"Prince Aja of Antar. Nice ring." Kal commented dryly. "Gives this King right here a reason to save this wretched planet… aside from lining my pockets with plenty of green." Everyone stayed quiet. "No questions? Then my job is done. Have a happy New Year."

--

Zan had been sitting on the log for a long time when Max joined him. Together they stared out at the woods. The cold bit into their skin but neither wore a jacket or made a move to warm themselves. "It's not like I didn't know somethin'… I just… put it way outta my mind."

All Max could do was shake his head and try to get a satisfactory reason out of his brother. "You just let her raise your kid by herself? An alien kid? Who knows what could have happened… to either of them."

"Now hold on, son. S'a lil' diff'rent than you thinkin'." Zan lit a cigarette and stared at the tip as he chose his words. He was in a telling mood so he wasn't going to leave anything out. "So it's 2001. We was big into ravin'… just 'cause we could. I met this girl, Ace they called her. Short for her last name. Never learned her real name. I was tired of Ava so I started hittin' it to her, you know? And it was good, you know? Real good. More curves than I'd seen b'fore, this luscious mouth, amazin' hazel eyes and a tongue that could burn the Devil. Just when I's thinkin' maybe she be the one… I catch her and Rath t'gether. Next time I see her, I pretend I don't." He bit back a curse at his own stupidity. "When she come 'round lookin' for me to tell me she pregnant… I throw it in her face that maybe it ain't my kid. I 'member she just starin' at me like she ain't neva seen me b'fore and takin' it for me hittin' on the truth, I figure it wudn't mine… at first. Then I don't see her for a few months and I figure… aight, it ain't. Then I see her and she got this huge belly and… ev'ry word off that tongue burnt to the bone and I don't know… I guess I still ain't want it be mine. She gave me one last chance to be there and I punked out."

"What?" Max asked after a few seconds when Zan didn't continue.

"9-11." Zan turned slowly to look at Max. "I don't know where she was. Maybe she was nowheres near the Towers. Maybe she got out first. I went in there lookin' for her. I was s'pposed to meet her. S'why I was in there. Ev'ryone else just follow me in, thought I was crazy but s'easy to forget when you a'most die." Tears flowed down his face as he relived that infamous day. "Maybe I blocked it out 'cause when I slammed that door shut, I was sealin' it. We was gon be fine or else. They wasn't gon die 'cause a me. I was sealin' when I hit my knees. She was havin' the baby and I was feelin' it. They was runnin' and when that second plane crashed through that buildin', I went flyin' ginst the wall. If they hadn't been wit me, I'd'a died under all that steel just like all the rest."

"I never felt anything about it when I healed you." Max prompted.

"I was lil' busy tryin'ta keep from dyin'." Zan pulled on his cigarette. "By the time I was ready to own up… I was hangin' wit you and you crew. I startin' makin' money and doin' for m'self but it was too late. She ain't want nothin' to do wit me. I leave her money sometimes and she… keep half and put the rest in the c'lection box at church. She ain't too proud to use what she needs but she be damned if she let me take care of her or the baby… but he ain't no baby no more. He three and change. He a'ready in pre-school 'cause she workin' all the time."

"All that time you were depressed… it was because of Ace and Aja, wasn't it?" Max took the cigarette and drew on it. He had thought he quit but just that second a little nicotine sounded good.

"I guess. Sorry I been takin' it out on ya'll." Zan took the cancer-stick back and tossed it into the woods. "I ain't tol' Kal 'bout 'im but you know Kal. He found out. Guess he don't like me goin' back." They sat for a long, cold moment. "Do me a favor?"

"If you don't come back, I'll make sure they're both taken care of. Maybe I can get them set up in this growing Antarian chain of connections. Working for me or Kal, it'll be better than McDonald's."

"Don't knock how she makes the bucks. She ain't just slingin' burgers. She doin' the books and makin' the deposits. She trainin' the kiddies come in lookin' for a job."

"I bet."

"She more special than I knew what to do wit when I had her."

"You ever think that maybe you didn't catch her with Rath? Maybe Ava was jealous and you thought…"

"Maybe. Or maybe he was rough-handlin' her and I just jumped the wrong conclusion. Ain't here or there, now." Zan stood. "Aja's mine. I tell the world… if I git the chance." He shut his eyes and absorbed the sounds of the earth. "You think they might let me live if I tell 'em the heir is still on Earth?"

"I think maybe they'll kill you faster."

"Maybe." Tears slipped from his eyes. "I hafta tell her b'fore I go. She's gotta know about the kid before I die."

"She will, maybe she does."

"Maybe."

"If you're planning to make a big splash and then disappear just in case they let you come back… I'd go out with that Brock woman… you know. Just to keep up appearances and not let anyone know you're taking off."

"Maybe." Zan stared off into the woods. "Don't know when that ship comin' but you gotta help me be ready… 'cause I'm damn scared. F'I had half the strength of Ramirez's moms… I might be cool but… damn. I'm scared, Max. I really am."

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Part 41 – March 15, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 41 – March 15, 2005

Max couldn't keep the smile off his face as he ate breakfast with Liz at the table in the kitchen. She had ditched her classes and a lab just for him. They were going to take a nap together and then think about how to spend the rest of the day. Tess wandered in and made a face at them. "Happy Birthday old man."

"You're not far off 23, yourself, little sister." Max threw a strawberry at her, which she caught and threw back. "Did…" He couldn't finish the sentence because she glared at him with such intensity that he wanted to run and hide.

"Uncle Kal talked to me about paying the bills." Tess rolled her eyes and looked about to spit. "I'm not a runway model. That's not what I do."

"You can do anything you want to do."

"No, I can't. Everyone who knows me, thinks I'm…" She took a deep breath and let it out in a harsh rush of air. "So, hi, Liz. Glad you could make it down."

"Since you're both awake. It's time for Max's present." Liz got to her feet and disappeared into the main hallway. She returned with a big box. Max tilted his head at her but rose to help her set it on the table. "Open it."

Snapping the ribbons on the sides, Max opened it to find a camera. It was the newest of the models he preferred, complete with eight rolls of film and enough solutions to last him a couple of months. His mouth went dry. It was a sweet gesture. When he didn't say anything, Liz lowered her eyes to the table. "Thanks."

"You don't mean it." Liz inhaled deeply and looked to Tess.

"He's stupid. Don't mind him." Tess shot her brother a dirty look and went to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. "I hate this."

"There's another bottle in the cabinet." Max murmured, still staring at all the equipment in the box. He should say something… soon.

"I hate that you don't take pictures. I hate that I know better." Tess threw her bottle in the sink where it shattered. She turned on them. "Snap out of it Max. You're here. We love you. Get busy."

She rushed from the room before anyone could say anything to her. Liz wrapped her arms around Max before he could get away. "She's right, you know. You have to start taking pictures again."

"I just don't feel anything." Max whispered and rested his hands on hers. The camera was very nice and it would be perfect for shooting outside.

"What happened to your dream, Max?" She pressed her face to his back. "The gallery."

"There's no point, anymore." He shrugged and gripped her hands tighter. "Kal's never going to back me on it… and he's right. The pictures will never sell."

"I think they will." Finally, he allowed himself to touch the camera. It was cool to the touch and it called to him. Liz nuzzled him gently. "How about if you just take a few pictures and if by the time you run out of the film I bought and you don't feel creative at all… I'll never bring it up again?"

"It's a deal." Max nodded and lifted the camera to take off the lens cap.

"Good. Let's go shopping for Zan's present."

"Hey, it's still my birthday." He turned to look at her.

"I haven't gotten him anything yet."

"Just put your name on the card, Missy. I've got him enough present from all of us."

Liz narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you get him?"


March 16, 2005

Zan opened the door and was immediately run over by his brother and Tess. "Hey guys."

"Didn't think you'd be up." Tess commented and made her way to the balcony.

"Neither did I." Zan jerked a thumb at her back to Max, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What's up?"

"Someone's an old man." Max told him and set the box down. "24. 24. You are ancient."

"Hey, some respect for your elders." Zan narrowed his eyes at him. "What's in the box?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"No, it's Depends. I figured someone as old as you would need some assurance that he wouldn't have an embarrassing accident."

"You're hilarious. You kill me." Zan nodded to the box again.

"Just open the box." Tess snapped at them before turning back to the window.

"She is woman, hear her bite your head off." Zan snapped back. "Come here, girlie. You didn't greet me in a manner I see fit." He hopped over the couch to get to her quicker."

"Zan, what are you doing?" Tess's backed up but the window stopped her retreat.

"You been a bitch since you walked in to my house." Zan grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, he slapped her hard on the rear.

"Ow! Zan, put me down." She pleaded

"No, I think I need a song first."

"Zan, please."

Zan stood still and then turned quickly and dumped her on her butt on the floor. "Listen, brat. You're old enough and smart enough now to know better than to be a brat to a man in his own house. What's the shit?"

"Nothing. Happy birthday, you old fogie." Tess rubbed her sore rear. When he looked like he was going to pick her up again, she held out her arms. "Okay, okay. I got into a fight with Drew. Didn't mean to take it out on you."

"That's better. Now, you gonna help me open this bitch or what?" Zan returned to his abandoned present only to have it move. "What the hell was that?" The lid popped off and a large puppy leaped out and headed straight for Zan. "What the hell?"

"Just a dog for a dog." Max joked badly but watched as Zan sank to his knees to greet the guy. "Figured he'd do you good."

"Yeah." Zan nodded as he examined the pup, he was going to be a very big dog. "I gotta talk to Brock before I can keep 'em here but, bro, thanks, man."

"So that's going well?" Max nodded to himself.

"Yeah." Zan's eyes clouded for a moment. "Real well. I like her a lot more than I thought I was gonna." The puppy whined and he turned his attention back to it. "Guess we'll hafta get 'im some food, huh."

"Done." Tess told him and pulled a bag from the hallway where they had left it to keep from spoiling the surprise. "Puppy chow."

Max watched Zan carry the squirming ball of fur into the kitchen to get him a bowl of water and a bowl for his food. "What are you going to name him?"

"Kal?" Zan joked. "'Kal, don't shit on the floor.' I like the sound a that."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate it, besides… you really want to offend the dog like that?" Max shook his head. The doorbell rang and he got up to answer it so Zan could continue to puzzle over names for his new dog. The door swung open and there stood the glorious redhead. "Speak of the devil and there she is?"

"Max, nice to see you again." Brock stepped inside. "I just swung by to see if my man was still busy." She let herself into the kitchen to kiss her boyfriend and coo over the puppy. As if there was ever any doubt that Zan would keep the puppy, he gave her a look. "We'll have fun walking him together." Max just watched them for a moment while they existed next to each other in comfortable silence. "Is he still here?"

Zan's eyes flicked to Max, then to Tess, then down the hallway. "He's takin' a nap. I betta go check on 'im."

Brock stared after Zan when he rushed down the hall to his bedroom. She gestured after him. "You met the little guy yet?"

"Who?" Max was thoroughly confused.

"Five a.m. the doorman calls us, wakes us up." Brock sighed heavily. "The ex showed up with her kid. Mumbled something about a dead babysitter and a job interview. There was some fighting and Zan got saddled with her kid for the day."

"Did he tell you?" Max winced when Brock tilted her head. "Come on. Why else would she bring him?"

"Have you met her? She could convince a scientist that there is no such thing as an atom." The red-head took a breath and let it out slowly. "So, maybe I do know. Where's she been all this time? Zan acted like he's got one shot and that's it."

"He's never met the kid." Max confirmed.

"Well, she's got some balls, I'll give her that. He is adorable though." She turned just as Zan returned with a small boy in his arms. The boy was still groggy and very shy, but seemed very comfortable where he was. "Hey there, you remember me?"

Aja nodded very slowly and looked to Zan, who shifted uncertainly under Max and Tess's gaze. He set the boy down. "Look what we got here. A puppy. Maybe you help me name the critter."

"Hims not a cwitter, hims a puppy." Aja shook his head but snuck closer to pet the soft fur of the wiggling creature. When he saw Max, he just eyed him cautiously. "Who's him?"

"That ugly mug?" Zan looked up at Max, who had his armed crossed and amusement plastered on his face. "That's your uncle Max."

"Maz?" He asked uncertainly. His hand fell softly on the dog as he sized up the new face. "Bock, where you go?"

"I had to go to work, sweetie." Brock knelt to talk to the little boy. "I heard you had a nap."

"I go to sweep in my daddy's bed." Aja told her as if it were the biggest secret in the world. "Hims my daddy."

"Yes, he is." Brock looked up at Zan who just nodded to himself.

Zan took a breath and noted the camera hanging off Max's shoulder. "You pick it up again?"

Max looked down to his camera and shrugged. "Liz made me agree to take it everywhere with me until I can decide whether or not I really want to give up on it."

"Before you give up… can you take a picture of us?" Zan hefted the boy into his arms and hesitantly kissed his forehead. "For the trip."

Max nodded stiffly. "You want to do it today or some other time?" He nodded to Brock who looked very interested in the conversation.

"Today, while I got him here. It's the best birthday present I ever got and I want to make sure I remember forever."

"Well, I guess there was no need for me to take the rest of the day off." Brock picked up her purse and started for the door. An amused Max watched Zan pull her back and whisper in her ear… until Max noticed the expression on his dupe's face. He had never seen that face before, not even in the mirror. Zan was in love and trying desperately to keep it all together. Without even realizing what he was doing, Max lifted the camera and clicked off a few of them whispering to each other with little Aja between them.


March 19, 2005

Zan sat in the room with the red light all around him and chatted while Max worked to develop the pictures. "Ace showed up in the mornin'. She needed a babysitter and since I'd been callin' her for coupla months tryin' to see 'im, she figured I could take him for the day. I didn't tell her it was my birthday. Her and Brock were shootin' daggers at each other somethin' fierce. I kinda don't understand that because she keeps sayin' she hates me."

"At least she let you see him. Even if it was only for a day." Max commented as he worked.

"Yeah. I think we gonna work something out. I'm gonna watch him when I can and I'm gonna pay for the sitter when I can't. If she gets this job, it's gonna be bucks for her." Zan looked up to his brother. "I think Kal got her the job."

"Welcome to the ever-burgeoning 'I-know-an-alien' club." Max snorted. "At least they'll be taken care of."

"Yeah." He took a deep breath. "Me and Brock got into it about him. You know? She… she thinks Ace is pullin' one over me. I tried to explain but I'd have to tell her everything and I don't know if we're ready for that." He hugged himself and fingered his cigarettes in his pocket. "I still gotta tell Ace and she's grateful that I took care of Aja okay but she's… still pissed at me, I guess." Shaking his head, he looked to where Max was hanging a picture. "Liz?"

"We're okay, we could be better but we're okay." Max smiled to himself. "I'm busting her out of one of her labs next week. I'm going to properly ask her to marry me and we're going to seriously make plans."

"She want that?"

"She keeps saying she does." Max set down his tongs and looked to his brother. "Maybe she knows I'm not being open with her."

"And why the hell aren't you?"

"I'm scared."

"And so is she. She's scared you gonna run off again and if you ain't bein' open wit her, it's no wonder."

"I know, I know." He shook his head and got back to the task at hand. Suddenly he plucked a picture off the line and handed it to Zan. "I'll make copies of that one."

Zan looked it over. It made his heart warm. He was whispering in Brock's ear and playing with Aja's hand. Brock was playing with Aja's shoe and Aja had a handful of Brock's hair. Just then his phone rang. "'Lo?"

"How could you do it?" Kal yelled so loud that even Max winced and turned.

"Do what?"

"Knock her up, you stupid son of a bitch." The irritated voice traveled over the line and to Max's ears from where Zan sat with the phone. "That red-headed Central Park princess is pregnant, you schmuck."

TBC
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Part 42 – April 15, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 42 – April 15, 2005

Max watched Brock pace the room. She held the phone beneath her chin with one hand and gestured with the other. "I mean, I shouldn't be worried that he's been at his ex's for two hours, right?"

Liz sipped her tea and looked to the worried redhead who kept letting her hand drift to her flat stomach. "Zan loves you."

"That's what he says." Brock pointed to Max. "I don't know. Zan says one thing and he does another and I never know what to think."

"That's just Zan." Liz explained calmly. "It's nothing. They have to talk about visitations with Aja."

Max watched the redhead's hand hover over her middle once more before she lifted both hands to dial Zan's cell again. "Zan, answer your phone." She hit the off button and resumed her pacing. "He's been acting funny for a month now and I always get the feeling he's holding back on me."

"Maybe Zan feels you're holding back on him." Max countered, tired of the game the two had been playing for a month. "Brock, trust me when I say that there is nothing between Ace and Zan except Aja. Maybe once, he wanted something more but that was way before he met you."

The redhead threw the phone at the wall where it flew to pieces. "This is stupid. I have never been this hung up on a man before. What the hell is wrong with me?" Tears slipped down her face and her hands felt to rest on her stomach. "He keeps saying things like he's not going to be here next year and I… I don't want to lose him but I can't lose any more sleep worrying that I'm not enough to keep him."

"You ever think that he's as insecure as you are?" Liz cut in "Zan's never been the best at expressing himself and when he does, it's usually in an explosion." She would have said more but the door opened.

Zan stepped into the apartment and froze when he saw his guests and his crying girlfriend. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Why did you go to see her?" Brock demanded. "She calls and you just go running?"

"We was talkin' bout Aja." Zan shrugged slightly, his eyes drifted to his hands and then to the window. Max could tell that the talk had not gone well. "Talkin' bout gettin' 'im into a private school and what not."

"So you left me a note instead of waking me up?" She had worked herself up plenty and it was all coming to the surface in a violent rush. "What else are you keeping from me, huh? Are you sleeping with her?"

"We don't need to be havin' this d'cussion in front of my brother and his girl." Zan bit out and made his way into the room to greet Liz. "Hey girl, long time no see."

Brock gasped audibly. "Did you date her too?"

"No." Zan spun in shock. "Speakin' of keepin' secrets… when're you gonna give me my news?"

"News?" The woman paled and clutched her stomach. Max winced and shut his eyes against the coming scene.

"Yeah, my news." Zan nearly shouted the words but reigned himself in at the last moment. He took a moment to get himself under control. "I know, aight? I a'ready know."

"How could you possibly know? I haven't told anyone."

"We're going." Liz motioned to Max but he wasn't watching anyone. When she started for the door, Zan motioned for her to stay put.

"No, I ain't seen you since New Year's. Stay." Zan's eyes burned deep into Brock's. "Tell me. You have my full attention."

"I'm…" The redhead swallowed thickly and cast her eyes to the ground as she took a deep breath that did nothing to calm her nerves. "I'm pregnant, Zan."

Max opened his eyes and caught the twitch in Zan's shoulders as he absorbed her words. They might have already known for a month but Zan was still hoping all this time; maybe that she wasn't, maybe that she would have solved the problem for them, maybe that he wouldn't have to force the truth out of her. Zan stood absolutely still.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Brock whispered, cradling her belly as if she could protect the life inside her from the world. "Zan."

Zan took a seat and met Max's eyes for a second before looking back to his girlfriend. "I can't prevent most of the mistakes that happened with Ace." He took a deep breath and met her eyes. "I'm gonna be here for you… for as long as I can before the kid is born. I'm leaving soon but know that you'll be taken care of and that I wanted to be here the whole time."

"Zan?" Brock's voice had dropped to bare air escaping her lips.

"There are things that you have to know bout me but I'm not so good with my words… so maybe Liz can help me tell you ev'rythin' you need to know. Things that I told Ace today and more." He looked to Liz. "Will you help me?"

"Yeah, I'll help." Liz nodded and took a seat. Max gathered Brock into his arms and guided her to an armchair to hear Zan's words.

"What's going on, Zan?" Brock's hazel eyes grew wide as her uneasiness swelled the longer Zan was silent.

Zan fixed his eyes on his hands. "You see, it'slike this. Star Wars ain't got it tot'ly wrong, you know. 'A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.' 'Cept maybe Luke and Leia don't look so much like they do as much as they do like Strange Invaders…"


June 4, 2005

There it was. Max watched Zan stare up into the light. He could tell that Zan was really trying and they were waiting for him to board the ship. Zan let out a ragged breath and turned to the ring of trees that shielded his loved ones. "I don't have 'nuff power, Max."

Drawing his hood over his head to shade his face from view, Max stepped forward to take Zan's outstretched hand. Their energy mingled and together they triggered the mechanism meant to get Zan inside the ship. Only once did glance back to the trees that hid his young pregnant bride, Branda Ophelia 'Brock' Marak-Zannamen, his future sister-in-law and his sister, Tess. Then he was inside. Max tried to move back into the trees but the ship shot off, abruptly severing his connection to Zan and throwing him three yards and into a tree.

He was gasping for air when the women rushed to his side. Liz cradled his head in her lap and whispered softly to him. Tess moved around them in a circle with her hands extended. Brock Zannamen caressed her unborn child and stared after the fading streak of light in the sky. "Please tell me he's coming back."

"Now he's got three reasons to make it back." Max uttered as he clutched his chest. Something wasn't right. He was too weak.


June 18, 2005

The bodyguards were in place. Max could see them out of the corner of his eye as he took a third turn with his fiancée around the square. He could see Tess and Drew whispering to each other not far away. He couldn't resist snapping a shot of them and then stood and stared for nearly five minutes at their body language. For an instant jealousy and possessiveness washed over him, along with a reminder of the dreams… but then the bile built in his throat. That didn't matter any more. Not the dreams, not his supposed destiny because there. He spotted her through the view finder. She was his life, his destiny and everything along the way. Liz chattered about the projects she was working on. He snapped photos of her animated hands and her brilliant smile and her irritated eyes. "Max. Stop."

"My best pictures are always of you."

"Shut up. You cannot not always be this charming." She rolled her eyes and began walking again. "We should get going soon. I'll have enough time to make it to that lecture and maybe to stop in at the lab."

"Lab, smab. Saturday lectures are for geeks. We're going to dinner."

"Again? Max." Liz stopped to put her hands on her hips. She was about to scold him about spoiling her when a smile crept across her face. "You know, I talked to my dad and he's not thrilled about me marrying a photographer."

"Did you tell him I'm a trust fund baby?"

"Yes, but he doesn't realize you've also got a burgeoning acting career and an agent who knows all the right moves."

"I don't know about the acting." Max shook his head at her.

"I may just have known you too long but if you want your pictures to sell, you need to get your name out there. The premier is coming up. You do an interview or two and maybe mention photography…"

"Known me too long? I think you've known Kal too long." Max chided her and resumed their walk once more.

"Think about it. You do a few more movies, develop a fan base. The fans check out your work, they rave to their friends and soon everyone knows you've got an eye for a good shot. They sell faster than you can develop them."

"Yeah, well, we'll see."

The thundering of footsteps didn't reach their ears until it was too late. Max whirled around, his fingers slipping on the button. The bodyguards were running, guns drawn. The shots rang from another direction. Max sidestepped into the path of the bullet to protect Liz. He felt it burn through his flesh as he fell. He blacked out a couple of times, he could hear far away voices, shouting for calls to 911. He concentrated hard. He could make out Liz's whisper but not her words. He was still weak from Zan's exit from Earth but he had just enough energy for a healing in his own body. Then he wasn't going to be good for much in the future. He knit together muscle and tissue and marrow. He felt himself being lifted from the uneven ground and lowered onto a stretcher. It was too late for paramedics anyway, he was going to be fine. He allowed himself to black out once more.


June 19, 2005

The beeps caught his attention. Hospital. He sat bolt upright. Kal. The alien sat still. No cigar, not even an unlit one. No reprimands for his heroics. "Hey kid."

"Why am I here?" Max whispered. He felt a bit weak still.

"Cause you're weak." Kal managed. "I covered your tracks as far as the hospital is concerned. That's all taken care of but in your condition, I figured we'd let you rest." For the first time in all of Max's memory, Kal looked sad. On September 11, he had looked weary and stressed. Today, he had actual sadness in his eyes. "Miles is ready to commit suicide. Thinks he was slacking off but even I could not have stopped that stray bullet from that crazy homeless guy."

"Did Liz get to her lab okay?" Max lay back and shut his eyes. He got no response to his question. "Kal? Did Liz get home okay?"

"Get some rest, kid." Kal began to rise but one scared look from Max held him in place. "You stopped the first bullet with your shoulder, kid, but the second hit her. You fell on her and knocked her off her feet. It was a bad angle that saved her life. The bullet… I'm looking for the guy. We'll get him."

"Where is she? If she's alive, where is she?"

"Upstairs. She just got out of surgery." Kal finally stood and motioned for the orderlies to enter. They had been waiting on his word. "It doesn't look so good for her. These guys will take you to say goodbye." The alien shook his head. "I might encourage writers to do this shit to sell a few seats but… I guess I never had to watch it happen with my own eyes."

"Goodbye?" Max's head snapped up. "What?"

"Bullet in the brain pan. They don't think she'll last the day." Kal lowered his eyes. "Her parents will be here soon. Maybe she'll hang on long enough to say bye to them too."

Shock kept Max from fighting the orderlies as they moved him into a wheelchair and through the corridors and elevators of the hospital. They wheeled him to a private room to see his pale sleeping beauty. Her hair had been cut and bandages covered her head. A tube ran up her nose and another down her throat. A mechanical lung pumped air in and out of her body.

Max felt a lump stick in his throat when he tried to speak. "Where are her things?"

"Things?"

"She's not wearing her ring. Where is it?" Max slapped the armrest as hard as he could manage. "A diamond engagement ring."

"I'll check with the nurses station." The orderly rushed off.

Max could feel that his powers would be useless for a long time and he was the only one on Earth who even had a shot at healing her with Zan off-planet. It wasn't long before the Parkers were in the room and bawling. Their only child. Everyone ignored him until the doctor arrived.

"As her next of kin… you must decide what is in her best interest."

The conversation went on and on. Nancy and Jeff disagreed and finally Max had to speak up. "Do not resuscitate."

"What?!" Jeff Parker bellowed but Nancy shushed him. "What do you mean? Kill my daughter?"

"Liz." Max let the tears slip out. "She's a scientist but this… living a meaningful life is important to her. If she's not going to be able to comprehend what she's spent her whole life studying for… if she's never going to wake up on her own… she wouldn't want to hang around or want us to hang around waiting for her."

"He's right." Nancy told her husband. "If she can't have her life back… and I couldn't bear to have her lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a machine."

"This isn't the way it's supposed to happen." Jeff shook his head. "I go first. Those are the rules. I go first."

"Liz!" A voice rang out. Max turned and saw a group of faces that he hadn't seen in a while. Maria DeLuca, Alex Whitman, Tyler? Valenti and some strange man in a Marine uniform. The doctor shushed them all and sent non-family members out of the room. Max was wheeled into a corner where he stayed for an hour until Mr. Parker sat next to him.

"I heard you took a bullet for her." Jeff wiped at his nose. Max nodded wordlessly. "I heard that if you hadn't moved, both bullets would have hit her dead on in the face."

"He was a crazy homeless man with a gun." Max whispered. "No one even knew he was there."

"Come on. The doctor's going to turn off the machine." Jeff rose and wheeled the younger man to the room once more. The doctor checked the clock and then turned off a switch. The lung stopped moving. The beeps never stopped and so the doctor removed the oxygen tubes. The beeps faltered for a moment and then resumed and her chest still rose and fell. Max's heart leapt into his throat as the stethoscope fit against her chest and the doctor made a noise in his throat. "She's a fighter. Looks like she's not ready to leave us yet."

Nancy burst into tears and Jeff let out a huge breath. "Parkers are fighters."

Maria and Alex clung to each other. Kyle? Valenti sank into a chair. Max looked to the man in uniform but couldn't place him. "Do we know you?"

"Sergeant Major Samuel Bailie." He held out his hand for Max to take. "Liz and I… knew each other for awhile. Her neighbor told me what was happening."

"Max Evans." Max nodded. "I'm her fiancé."

"Her what?" Maria gasped. "You're her what? She agreed to marry you?"

TBC

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Part 43 – June 20, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 43 – June 20, 2005

Max had sat at the table in the cafeteria for hours before anyone found him. Tess sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. This was the same. The old Tess would have done the same, just held onto him because nothing could make things better. Maybe she hadn't totally changed from the girl he'd always loved. Max could feel the shadow before she spoke. "So, your fiancée is upstairs in a coma and you're cuddling with a blonde?"

"I'm his sister, you skank." Tess hissed at her in a way the old Tess would have never done.

"Tess, behave." Max took his sister's hand. "Have a seat, Maria. Take a load off."

"So, I talked to that Baliss, guy." She glared at him as she took a seat.

"Bailie. So did I." Max corrected and shut his weary eyes.

"Maria, there you are." Alex straightened his tie and rushed over. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Hold on. I wanted to ask Maxie some questions." Maria patted the table for Alex to sit next to her. "So, Mr. Evans. Why did that Marine think he was involved with Liz if she's allegedly engaged to you?"

Max sipped his coffee and waited as Alex sat down. "I talked to him this morning and I think I remember Zan mentioning him once."

"Zan?" Maria shook her head. "Who's Zan?"

"My brother. He and Liz were close for awhile and actually Sgt. Maj. Bailie is one of the very few reasons they fought. It was a year or so ago, I guess. Liz and I weren't together really. We talked on the phone a lot and that was the extent of it. Come to find out she had had a fling with Michael."

"Michael?" Maria sat up.

"Evans." Alex provided, adjusting his collar uncomfortably. "That was before he moved to New York, I think."

"Ew." Maria shook her head. "Ew. Okay I get her not telling me that."

"Well, he wasn't the only guy she'd been flinging with, I guess." Max sniffed a little. "I mean, I was no angel myself, you know? We… anyway… She broke up with her flings all at once because her and Zan got into it about her not respecting herself or something. When I talked to Bailie, it turned out that when she was breaking up with people, he had been shipped overseas. In fact, he had been writing her letters and he didn't even know he had been dumped. He had just gotten in when he went to go see Liz and her bodyguards told him where she was."

"Bodyguards?" Alex furrowed his brow. "Liz never mentioned bodyguards to me. Was someone threatening her?"

"No… it's just that… my uncle… we've all got bodyguards." Max shook his head. "When Liz and I started hanging out, we got some for her too. It's kept her out of magazines on account of me and Zan."

"Why again with the bodyguards?" Maria pressed, all animosity drained from her voice when she could see how upset Max really was.

"My uncle, he…"

"Gets stalkers." Tess leapt in, knowing her brother wasn't up for a story. "I can remember a few times we had people come in as housekeepers and they were just plain stalkers looking for an in…" She met Alex's eye and found that he was confused but not by what she was saying. "…and after Zan started modeling, there were a few worrisome letters. Liz hung out with both Max and Zan… she could have become a target. The bodyguards are just a precaution."

"Max! I just heard." Brock raced into the room and knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine but Liz." He could feel the emotions welling up in his chest but he couldn't let them loose.

"Oh god, is she?"

"No. She's alive but…" Max sucked it up. "She's in a coma."

"Oh no." Brock clutched her belly.

"Hey, no. No." Max's head snapped up and reached to get the redhead into a chair. "Don't start. Don't. Calm down."

"And who is this?" Maria arched an eyebrow at him.

"My sister-in-law." Tess glared at Maria. Then she felt the fire die from her words. "Zan is gone."

"You know, I never used to be high maintenance." Brock laughed at herself. "It's gotta be the hormones…"

"Brock, this is Maria DeLuca and Alex Whitman." Max introduced them. "This is Brock Zannamen, my sister-in-law. These are Liz's friends from high school. They flew up when they heard."

Alex studied Tess for a few minutes before he remembered why he was looking for Maria in the first place. "The hotel is good for the night but we have to leave in the morning. Did you want me to go ahead and book a flight out?"

"I…" Maria's face crumpled. "I don't want to leave but…"

"I'll keep you apprised of the situation." Max nodded to her. "If she wakes up or… when she wakes up, I'll fly you in." He took a deep breath. "Her parents are going to stay the week until we get her transferred to a private facility or something. I’m still working out the details… and then they'll be heading back I suppose."

"But—" Maria started to protest.

"I'm going to cover the cost." Max told her. "For everything. I don't want the Parkers to have to worry about bills or plane tickets. They've got enough on their minds with their daughter in a coma."

"Is your uncle okay with that?" Alex pressed lightly. Liz had kept him informed of most of the details of the Max situation.

"This time… he's not been around to interfere… which is his way of telling me it's okay." Max hugged his sister.

"Interfere?" Maria focused confused eyes on the rich man across from her.

"Uncle Kal didn't like Liz dating Max. He thought she was a bad idea." Tess explained softly.

"Uncle Kal has some pretty skewed ideas about his charges." Brock bit out and rose from the table in a huff. "I'll be in the car."

"Yeah, Kal doesn't like her either." Tess whispered. "And he didn't like Kathryn or Jesse either."

"Jesse Ramirez? Isabel's husband." Maria nodded to their nod. "And Kathryn who?"

"Evans…" Max told her. "Michael's wife."

"Michael Evans is married?" Maria snorted and then saw that Max was serious. "Holy shit. Is Santa Fe the biggest black hole on the planet or what?" She turned to Alex. "Where the fuck was I when everyone else was growing up?"

July 4, 2005

Brock walked into the apartment very calmly and waited until the door shut behind Max to break down. Little Aja looked to Max but Max didn't know what to do. The premiere had gone well and she had held it together through the whole movie. It was Zan's wish that they take Aja to see the movie… and cover his eyes during the inappropriate moments.

Duke cautiously stepped into the room and sniffed at his mistress's feet. He wagged his tail a couple of times but the dog hadn't been the same since Zan had left, no one had. He was already as tall as Aja and didn't show any signs of stopping.

Slowly, Brock pulled herself together. "I am such a mess, these days. Any little thing seems to set me off."

"Just a few more months." Max told her. The premiere had been a bust for him too. He had opted not to bring a date and opted for Brock and Aja instead. Tess would have been miffed if Drew hadn't already invited her to a party at his frat house.

She gasped and clutched her belly. Then she started laughing. "Oh my god. That's incredible. He kicked."

"He?" Max tilted his head at her.

"The baby." Brock marveled at the feeling and didn't even notice Aja sneak up on her and put his hand on her round stomach. The baby responded enthusiastically to its brother's touch. Brock realized that she hadn't been a very good baby-sitter or step-mother to the boy that night. "That's your baby brother."

"My bwother?" Aja furrowed his brow and shook his little head. "My sistur." Then he moved his hand to the other side of her stomach. "There my bwother."

Brock sputtered for a moment and looked to Max. "My family has a history of fraternal twins… but…"

"What?" Max could almost feel her worry.

"I'm a fraternal twin." She whispered, her hazel eyes wide with fear. "I'm the survivor."

Before they could discuss things further, the lock turned and the door opened. Ace took in the sight of her son touching the red-head and didn't look happy about it. "Aja, let's go."

"Mama, my bwother and sistur kick my hand." Aja smiled at her and then ran into her arms. "I saw Daddy on the big TV and Unca Max give me popcorn and candy."

"Not a lot of candy, I promise." Max cut off Ace's protest. "Just a handful. One of his. Gummy bears. He ate some veggie pizza at dinner. He's probably ready to… sleep or something."

"Oh. Okay."

"How's the new place working for you?" Max stopped her from racing to the door.

"Better than the old one." Ace nodded, blue hair falling in her face. "The job is good, too. Thank your uncle."

"You know, if you ever want to come around, no one will chase you off."

"No thanks. I got my own life." She shook her head and inched for the door again.

"We like taking care of Aja." Brock spoke at last. "I won't be going back to work for a long while so if you ever need a night… I'll be glad to watch him."

"Whatever." Ace made it to the door with her son and turned. "You know, I didn't ask to be involved. You don't have to tolerate me because Zan and I… You know? You don't have to feel like you need to make me feel like I fit in. I don't. I didn't grow up rich like you guys and I don't want your pity."

"Hey." Max shook his head. "It's a lonely world, Ace. If you need to talk about… things. We're here. We take care of each other."

"Then why the hell did you send Zan off to die?" Ace threw open the door, picked up her son and disappeared down the hall.

Max looked to Brock. "Do you need me to stay?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'll be okay." She looked up at him. "Don't… tonight. Take a break. Relax. She'll be there tomorrow."

"I don't know that for a fact." Max shook his head. "Are you sure you don't need me to stay for a while?"

"No. Me and Duke will go for a walk and go to bed." The dog rested its head on her knee and looked sadly at his mistress. He whined a moment before he bumped her hand with his head. "Can you let Peter know before you go?"

"Sure." Max nodded finally and headed out to find the bodyguard who was no doubt pacing the hallway.

July 10, 2005

"This article reads like a Lifetime Original picture." Kal tossed the magazine at Max as he entered the green room. "You up for this?"

"Keeps my mind off of things." Max nodded.

"This show, tonight, big deal."

"Movie got good reviews, the premiere was good. You got me doing that other picture." Max shrugged at the floor.

"Kid…" Kal stood in the doorway. "I found him."

"Oh?" His brows arched in interest but his eyes were fixed on a spot on the floor.

"I checked him out. No tampering. No alien business. Just a crazy with a gun."

"Oh."

"This Leno-wannabe… he's got a list of questions not to ask."

"Okay."

--

"This movie, it’s great. I have to tell you that first off… in this movie, you steal your twin brother's girl. Things like that ever happen in real life?"

"Not exactly." Max shook his head. "Zan and I aren’t actually twins and we didn't meet until we were adults. We don't really have the same taste in women."

"Why do you call him Zan?"

"He got the maiden name growing up. I guess Emory Zannamen wasn't weird enough for him, he needed Zan too. At least I got the short, normal names. No one ever misspells them." The audience chuckled and it reinforced Max’s smile just a bit.

"So, your brother, Emory." The host nudged gently.

"Zan." Max corrected. "Yeah, Zan's my brother." Laughter rolled through the audience.

"We know all about you. Kal Langley's nephew, grew up on the set of every major motion picture in the last two decades. Graduated from Yale. You were meant for the screen but your brother is a different story." Max didn't say anything and so the host went on. "This kid, Emory 'Zan' Zannamen, pops out of nowhere and makes a huge splash in the male modeling scene. His face was plastered all over the place, in every magazine and on every TV with those spectacular car ads. Then he dabbles in acting. The two of you do this film and have moved on to others. This first movie is a smash hit. He's a huge star in the making."

"Gee. I must be chopped liver." Max shifted slightly as the audience chuckled again.

"You know what I mean. This film got rave reviews. He's making a name for himself. The tabloids can't get enough of him. Dating this girl. Dating that girl. Married to this girl. Then bam. Missing."

Max caught Kal's eye and shifted forward in his seat. "You know, he's not really missing. The family knows where he is. He needs a little break. Like you said, he dove in and things have been moving along pretty quickly. He needs time to adjust… and like you said, the tabloids have done a number on us."

"And the newspapers have got you last month. Care to discuss that?"

Max looked to Kal and then the producer was motioning wildly to the host for a commercial break.

--

Tess did as instructed. Lightly she massaged the skin on Liz’s leg to promote blood circulation, then she slowly and firmly set the leg in motion, using every muscle in her body. “How am I doing?”

“Good.” The therapist nodded as she checked something on the chart. “You’re going to be coming everyday?”

“For two weeks. Then my brother wants her moved to the house.” Tess nodded, not noticing her brother in the doorway. “He’s got interviews with nurses and he wants a few of his bodyguards to take some classes… one has already got a credit or something.”

“Tell him to pass the names along, I’ll make sure they know what they’re supposed to.” She nodded and turned only to find Max standing directly behind her. “Mr. Evans. Are you sure that I can’t talk you out of this?”

“It’s more convenient all around. We’ll always know where she is and her family can come up whenever they want and they don’t have to worry about hotels… I’ve got… A friend of the family, his wife is a nurse and she wants to spend more time with their baby.”

“Keeping it in the family?”

“You could say that.” Max nodded. “I’m going to have a specialist look in on her every week or so.”

“Good plan. You know.” The therapist lowered her voice. “This can get expensive, even cutting corners all around…”

“Guess I have to make a few more movies.” Max shrugged. “It’ll be taken care of.” He stepped fully into the room. “Tess? Uncle Kal’s waiting in the car.”

“I just got here. I stopped to talk to Drew first.”

“Well, you wasted time. I’m sure the doctor can finish up. You’ll be in charge of physical therapy when we take Liz home with us.”

“Fine.” Tess got up reluctantly. “Quads are done on the right leg. I did toe exercises on both feet, finger exercises on both hands, bicep curls… That’s it, I think.”

“Good job. Come to the hospital when you can, I’ll see if I can’t find the numbers to some places you can go for training.” The doctor told the blonde. “You’ve got a knack for this.”

“And I’m working on the book work.” Tess smiled at her brother. “I think I know what I want to do.”

“Alright then. Tutors or college?” Max narrowed his eyes at her, she narrowed hers back. “Think it over carefully.”

“Wonk.” Tess squeezed his nose and kept walking.

Max looked to the doctor. “Please tell me that girls grow up eventually.”

“Sometimes.”

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Part 44 – August 1, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 44 – August 1, 2005

Max watched Tess read diligently at her desk. She had four books open and five windows on her screen as she typed, read, and learned. She had left poor Drew alone to doze on the bed by himself. He should be more upset that Drew was naked under the sheet but Tess was a near-grown woman emotionally, and had been legal enough for some years. He had known. Somewhere in his mind he had known since… Liz. That day he had known. Again, he shoved the feeling away. Programmed feelings had no place in this world he had created for himself on this Earth, in this life.

“God, Max, don’t you know how to knock?” Tess shook her head and reached back to release the sash on the canopy bed. The curtain fell to half-hide the sleeping Drew. The boy didn't even budge.

“Just checking in, I haven’t seen you in a few days.” He took a seat on an ottoman near the door. He didn't want to impose on her private space.

“Well, when I’ve been out and about, you’ve been in there with Liz… brooding and blaming yourself. Forgive me for not going in there when you’re there.” Tess growled softly, only half-meaning her harsh words. “So, I’m challenging a few of these introductory courses next week at the university. I may be late going to college but I can catch up in no time.”

“It’s not a race.” Max reached forward to stroke a stray curl that lay down her back. “Go only as fast as you can handle.”

“I can handle it. With any luck I’ll have a semester’s worth of credits by the beginning of the semester. I’ve got a full schedule lined up plus I’ll challenge some more classes in December. Just the easy stuff… I promise.”

“Okay.” Max nodded. “Brock and Ace are going to be here in a bit… you told Brock you would take care of the dog for a while.”

“Yeah, yeah. I remember. I’ll do it. Just give me a few more minutes and we’ll be down.”

--

“The house is nice.” Ace commented. Aja and Duke had already gone off to the backyard to run around with a nice big stick. Her cargo pants and tight shirt said a lot about the person she was when she wasn’t stuffed into skirts and blouses for work.

“We call it home.” Max nodded and handed her a drink.

“Here where the boss lives too?”

“When he’s on the East coast.”

“I hear he’s got digs everywhere.” Ace sipped her lemonade. “So… this where it all goes down? Plans for the alien invasion.”

“Not so much. Mostly just… plans for movies, photo-shoots, the occasional birth.” Brock shrugged and paced the room. Her back had been killing her all day and the ride hadn’t done much for it either. She wasn’t supposed to travel but she hadn’t planned on leaving the house until the babies were born. Her children would be the second and third to be born in the house. “So… um… Max. How you holding up?”

“Alright.” He shrugged. "Same old, same old… though… I'll be leaving next month and I don't know if I'll be able to do it."

"She'd want you to make sure everything's taken care of." Brock reassured him.

"I know but… knowing I can't see her every day…"

Ace shifted uncomfortably. She barely knew these people. Turning to the window, she saw a man approach her son. "Aja!"

Max groaned when he turned but raced after Ace. Kal. The alien knelt next to the boy. "Alvaro Joaquin Acevedo. How are you?"

"I'm gonna be four." He told the old alien as he pet the dog, who bristled but didn't bark at the alien.

"So, I hear. Nice to meet you. Everyone calls me Uncle Kal." Kal looked up when the two youngsters approached, leaving the pregnant woman trailing behind in her slow waddle. "Strong-looking boy you got there."

"Yes. He is." Ace crossed her arms. "Who are you?"

"Your employer." Kal rose to his full height and looked to Max. "This is what we have to accept into our family?"

"Hey." Max snapped. "Zan's choice. Not mine and a good one. Without women like her… our whole race might not be worth anything."

"Why don't you worry about yours?" Kal pulled a cigar from his pocket. "And leave Zan's women to me."

"Not until he tells me to." Max shook his head. "I might have been your first choice as King but I'm the replacement now. Zan's the King. What he says goes and I promised I'd be here for all of them."

"You are correct, your highness." Kal smacked his mouth around his cigar. "I'm just checking out the next generation."

"Ah." Max gasped and fell to his knees. The pain. The pain. "Ah!" Hands touched him and suddenly he wasn't seeing his backyard in Connecticut. No. He was on the fields of Antar. The waves of blue grain stained with black blood, red waters becoming murky with it and the enemies falling, the rebellion kneeling.

"Too soon!" Brock cried and the pain shot through her middle. Max returned to Earth and rushed to his sister-in-law's side. Kal helped lift her and carry her into the house. The dining room seemed to be the birthing room.

August 19, 2005

Max hadn't budged from beside Liz's bed in one and a half weeks, because fourteen days earlier he had been about to get up and she had squeezed his hand. Everyone told him it was just a reflex but it meant something to him. To him it was a subconscious effort to tell him that she was still in there and fighting to get back. To him it was just the spark of hope he needed to keep believing that the food tube and oxygen tanks were just precautions to ensure she could wake up when she was ready. He half-listened to Brock talk. She had taken to having conversations with Liz since he couldn't open his mouth himself. The children were sleeping for the moment and she could do with some release of her own.

"I don’t think Zan slept the last week he was here. He was afraid of forgetting and I don't quite understand that but it was very important to him that he remembered everything that he could. He promised that he would try to come back to me and he will. If he says he will, he will. He's going to have a big surprise when he gets back, though. Kathryn says the twins are doing fine and that there should be no further complications." Brock brushed Liz's hair with a fine bristled brush. "I'm not going to worry because just because my brother didn't survive infancy doesn't mean that my children won't. Aja turned out fine. I talked to Ace and she said that her pregnancy was fairly normal. Well, she said that his heart stopped beating for a second when he was born but Zan told me that was when his heart jolted in the tower. Maybe being what my children will be, that will prevent this genetic curse, you know?"

"I'm sure it will." Max told her. "It's what saved Zan in the tower, it's what saved Tess after the pods…" He trailed off… he didn't like to think about that stuff. It got him thinking about the ways his life had gone wrong and it made him want to run again.

"How are your… power thingies?"

"'Power thingies?' You've got a masters in English and 'power thingies' is the best you can come up with?" Max laughed at her.

"When certain occurrences defy Earthly definition, it is difficult to find the right blend of adjectives and nouns to accurately define these occurrences. U.F.O. Unidentified Flying Object. It's silly. Space craft. Silly. Spaceship. Crazy. Finding credible descriptions for these abilities you have is difficult."

"Alright. I get it." Max shook his head slowly.

"You are just avoiding the subject." Brock pointed out.

"I think that whatever power transfer that Zan and I performed, it hindered my ability to use them correctly. Whatever I had left, it just took all of it to heal me when the bullet hit me and you know… I'm still a little sore there. Sometimes, it's as if there's still a piece inside me that grates whenever I move."

"Maybe there is. Maybe you healed yourself enough to survive but not completely. It is… human." She told him. "The imperfection. The flaw. It is what makes us whole humans. None of us… none of the normal humans are unflawed, Max."

"Well, whatever… I think that since you had been in labor that day… Zan felt it… but he was fighting and it was draining him… and… I don't think the connection severed as completely as I thought it had. I think it's still open. Zan knows the babies are born. I'm sure of it." Max's sentence was punctuated by the crackling wail of the baby monitor.

"Speaking of which." Brock stood and handed the brush off to Max. "I'm sure it's all going to work out."

September 2, 2005

Kathryn turned to Brock and Max. "How do I look?"

"Gorgeous."

"Beautiful."

"But do I look like a thirty-three-year-old delusional woman who married a man ten years her junior?"

"No." Max laughed. "They're just people and nice ones from what I remember."

Gracie stirred from her nap in the cradle nearby and Kathryn didn't even bother. She would stir a few more times and then she'd lift her little head and go back to sleep… just like her father.

"They are not your in-laws and you're not meeting them for the first time." She pointed out to him and smoothed her dark hair. "When are they going to get here?"

"Well, I haven't put in the landing strip yet so it's going to be awhile… say thirty minutes to find them, twenty to get the bags, an hour or so to get here… the usual."

"Max, help me up." Brock nodded to her full arms.

Max dutifully scooped first one then the other into his arms to allow Brock a rest and a chance to get up out of the chair she'd been in for hours. Little Zannamen babies. Kathryn rolled her eyes and took the boy from his left arm. Scott. Little Davis was who he had in his arms. She was darling, yes. Darling.

"That one is going to be spoiled by her Uncle Max for the rest of her life." Brock snorted as she got up to get ready. "Mind watching your favorite?"

"Not at all." Max shook his head. He was leaving in a few days. He'd have to get in all the time he could with the babies before then. Kissing her full head of hair, he longed for Liz to wake up and marry him so they could have a whole baseball team of their own.

"Don't forget to give her back when her daddy shows up." Kathryn warned.

"He'll have to pry her from my cold dead arms." Max shook his head. "He's going to come back an experienced warrior."

"Is he?" She set the boy in the cradle next to her daughter.

"A ruler of a people." He looked to his guest. "Getting a degree and making a few movies seems a bit trivial next to that."

"Not less important."

"Mother!" The gasped came from the foyer. They were early.

"Isabel, honey, why didn't you tell us?"

"Because…" She trailed off as she entered the room. "We've been having a hard time of it…" She couldn't look at her mother-in-law because the woman didn't approve of lying to anyone, especially one's mother. "We don't want to get our hopes up." She turned to the room. "Oh my goodness."

"Is that my granddaughter?" Diane looked at Max.

"No." Michael cleared his throat and retrieved his daughter from the cradle. "This beauty is."

"Hi." Kathryn shifted nervously.

"Mom. Dad." Michael turned to his wife. "This is Kathryn, my wife. Our daughter, Gracie… and… where are the kids?"

"Um… outside." She told him before reaching for her in-laws' hands. "It's great to finally meet you."

"Yes… well I can certainly see what made Michael keep you a secret for so long." Phillip winked at her.

Isabel took Davis from Max. "Is this Zan's daughter?"

"Yeah." Max nodded and turned when Brock entered the room. "Brock, this is Philip and Diane Evans, Michael and Isabel's parents."

"Nice to meet you." She greeted them shyly.

"Likewise." Diane managed a smile but she was enthralled by her grandchild.

"She's my brother's wife. The other two babies would be hers." Max explained. The room was getting crowded very quickly. He found Jesse and his mother relaxing on the couch. "Some family reunion, huh."

"Looking forward to Thanksgiving." Jesse cocked an eyebrow. "Everyone under the same roof, extended families… your uncle."

"Right. Joy." Max turned to soak in all the oohing and ahing over babies. There certainly were enough of them… not to mention what he suspected was being discussed when they had trooped into the house. His sister. His biological sister was having a baby. Isabel cradled Scott in her arms with that expression. That wistful expression he had probably worn himself earlier that afternoon.

Sneaking away, he found the stairs and climbed them to the room he spent most of his time in these days. There she was… his sleeping beauty. Taking his seat he picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to its palm. Her fingers tightened around his for a second and then relaxed. Her eyelids fluttered and then she was still again. Her hair was growing out nicely. He could hear laughter and baby cries and conversation. Tess would be home soon and there would be a manhunt for him but he was content for the moment just holding her hand. He was leaving in a few days. He had to get in as much time as he could.

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Part 45 – November 24, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 45 – November 24, 2005

Max wandered through the house. He had been forced to hand over his niece for feeding some time ago and he was bored. The Parkers were sitting with Liz, whispering to each other about her color and the blinking lights on the monitors. He hated leaving her alone so he had a baby monitor in the room and the receiver in his pocket, a discreet earphone curled about his ear. Mrs. Marak followed Brock around asking questions and giving pointers. Mr. Marak was talking politics with Mr. Evans in the living room between plays. Michael grunted every now and again to their conversation and cursed profusely when his team did something wrong. He was supposed to be watching the kids but they were too busy running around. Duke followed them wherever they went, happy to be played with, though he was nearly bigger than Anna these days.

"What the hell was that? God dammit! What the fuck are they thinking? Pull your head out of your ass, coach!" Michael roared, then tried to quiet himself and apologize for his language. "Sorry. Sorry. What! What is that?"

Mrs. Evans glared into the living room when the men got too loud. Kathryn paced with Gracie and rolled her eyes. "Michael, watch your mouth. Damien will think he can burst out whenever he likes if you keep it up."

"Sorry."

"What's the score?" Jesse called from the kitchen.

"We're down by two touchdowns… second down." Philip called back.

"Go watch." Isabel shoved her husband. She wasn't nearly showing but he was hovering… constantly and annoyingly. "I have all the juice I want. I have a zillion pillows. I'm perfectly comfortable."

"Are you sure?" He inched to the door but then changed his mind and moved to help his mother to chop vegetables. Tess barely tolerated the intrusion in her kitchen but stayed quiet to make herself invisible. She and Drew had hit a roadblock. They had been invited and then uninvited because the Lazcanos thought she was still mentally ill and Drew couldn't think of a way to educate them on his deepening relationship with Tess. Kissing her forehead, Max scooted through the kitchen to pass on a kiss to Isabel. Ace set down her box and reached for the drink that had been near all day.

Aja raced through the kitchen to make sure his mother was still there and ran back to find his new friends. Ace flipped through the empty place cards in her box. She looked bored out of her mind as she pulled out a few and set to them with a calligraphy pen. "Aja, slow down. No running."

Nancy entered with her arms crossed and smiled at Diane. "Need any help."

"No one needs to help, you know. I've got it." Tess blurted out. "Everyone relax and let the chef do her work."

"Tess." Elena shook her head. "We'll all help."

"Aja!" Ace shouted and rose clumsily to catch her son. Max beat her to the boy, picking him up and steering Ace into another room away from the eyes and ears.

"Hey…" Max knelt in front of his nephew. "Hey little guy, want to calm it down a little? Go play in the rec with Anna and Damien." He sent the little boy off with a gentle push and looked Ace over. "What's wrong?"

She wiped a tear from her eye, smearing her eye liner. "I don't know. I ain't never had much family, you know? Always been me and Aja."

"It wasn't always that way, surely." Max pointed out.

"I guess not but since he's been born, he's been it… and… Zan. I always knew he was out there, even when he didn't come around I knew and when he got a job I could see that he was out there." She sank onto the edge of the bed. "Seein' 'im with that redhead…"

"Ouch." Max winced. "But you didn't want him back."

"I was mad but I guess I still love him or want to be in love with him… I can't stand knowin' he's out there and I don't know that he's still there. What if he's dead?"

"Aja would know." Max moved to sit next to her.

"I guess he would… that… connection to his father… I don't know. I just… want to be someplace else in my life. I don't want to always wonder what if… and seein' all these people that he's got."

"Zan… he's never met the Evanses or the Parkers. He hardly knows the Murphys. Zan has always felt he was alone. Ever since his sister and her boyfriend died… he's felt even more alone. We play brother parts and that's a comfort but he doesn't feel any of this is real… maybe that's why he decided to go… He didn't have anyone and he didn't have you or Aja… and then… he got everyone. He met Brock, you and the baby came back into his life and he's a father now. He has reasons to be here, reasons to come back. That. Those connections are all he sees to this world."

"He's my only connection. Not even him. Aja's connection to him is why I'm here now." She looked up at him. "If it weren't for Zan… I'd still be in that shit hole of an apartment, leavin' my baby with the senile old bat down the hall to work late every night."

"You've got a good job now. Many willing and capable babysitters." Max wiped her tear-streaked face and brushed her hair out of her face. "You can relax, go out once in a while… open yourself up to someone new."

"Yeah… you're right." She whispered and closed the distance. Max turned his head and she caught his cheek. She pulled back and pinched her lips together. "I'm sorry. Your girl is upstairs and… I'm putting the moves on because I'm drunk and sad."

"Lay down. I'll bring you some coffee and you can just rest until it's time to eat." Max got up and headed for the door.

"Since I went out on my own… I've only told one person my real name." She stopped him. "My name is Jacqueline. My parents used to call me Jackie." He stared at her for a moment. "Now that makes two."

"Who else did you tell?" Max opened the door a crack and turned back to her.

"Zan… but I think he was asleep when I told him."

--

Max sat with Liz. They were finishing up dinner downstairs. Kal had come and eaten little, conversed less and sent many meaningful looks around the table. The crowded table. Three and a half Ramirezes, five Evanses, two Murphies, two Parkers, two Maraks, three Zannamens, two Acevedos, and Max and Tess.

He was just sitting there, contemplating using what little energy he had gathered over the past months and holding her hand when he heard the scream. Dropping her hand, he was on his feet, racing to Brock. He found the redhead sobbing over the cradle in her room. Scott was awake and staring around but Davis… was so still and so pale. His breath stopped in his lungs when he realized what happened. He didn't even feel the people standing behind him in the doorway. Grief swept through him when he managed to step toward the poor baby girl. His vision blurred.

Red water. Clear as the sky. Setting sun sending blood red shadows over everything. Overwhelming grief.

Gathering the baby to his chest, he released a sob. She was still warm. One hand on her head, the other on her heart, cradling her gently. Max wept with his own grief and the grief he could feel pouring into him through that ghost limb where his powers once lived.

Sinking into the water, ignoring shouts to come back. Saving it all to send home.

Max gasped as he sprang to life for the first time in months. It flowed through him, originating in a place he could not feel and gliding right through his hands and into the limp little girl. When it ebbed away… apprehension flooded into his mind. Then she cried. A beautiful wailing that sped relief away and back. It rebounded back and forth as she continued to scream her head off.

Floating. Staring up at the purple sky. It would be dark soon but he had to celebrate in his favorite place on the whole planet.

Max let Brock take Davis out of his arms. When he lifted his hands to his face, he was crying. The tears just wouldn't stop.

Kal stood still as Max passed by him and climbed the stairs to Liz's room. He followed him and didn't say a word when he gripped her hand and couldn't do a thing for her but cry into her still palm. Max didn't see it because his eyes were closed but Kal did. The monitor above her head danced with light, her eyes darted from side to side beneath the closed lids. That one was far from brain-dead… trapped inside her own mind.

--

Kal smoked the foul cigar by the window. The Parkers, the Evanses and the Maraks waiting patiently since Max sat still next to the bed. It was the most selfless thing he had done, ever. Risked exposing himself to save a life just hardly begun. "Isabel wanted to tell you herself but she's a little upset at the moment."

"What's going on?" Phillip demanded. "What are you hiding?"

"You're mistaken into believing this is my doing." Kal shook his head and gestured to the motionless young man. "He's the reason we're all here. Let's have a story about a great King and the legacy left to a distraught and frightened people, who played everything on one last chance… Cue the dramatic and majestic theme music."

December 25, 2005

Max fed the baby beside Liz's bed. These were two girls he had not let out of his sight all month. Davis stared back at him over her bottle. "How are you doing little girl?" Max nudged her and she just stared back. "That's Aunt Liz."

"Hey, Broody." Brock tucked her hair over her shoulder, she entered with that look on her face again. "It's time for her nap."

"And when she falls asleep I'll go put her down." Max shook his head. Giving him that look again, she turned and walked out. "That's right, leave me alone with my two favorite ladies in the world."

"And I'm chopped liver?" Tess breezed into the room and set to work getting Liz ready for her therapy. She had that look on her face, too, as she oiled her hands to warm up the still muscles. "You spoil her."

"I'm allowed." Max muttered as Davis drifted off. "Liz's mom sent some candles, like the ones she used to have at home. They read that smells help."

"Later." Tess nodded as she worked her way from toe to knee. "How are they holding up?"

"Okay. They wanted to come but I think they are a little leery of us." Max looked at Liz. The monitors didn't show any change and she specialist had just been in. She said they were doing all they could but not to expect much and not to be surprised at any sort of deterioration. "I'm afraid they might want me to move her back to the hospital."

Tess sat and looked at him with those sad blue eyes. "They know you love her, Max. We're just different. They know that. They're scared but they saw what you did… and they know it can't be bad if that sweet little girl in your arms can still be there."

"Maybe." He wasn't used to caring what people thought of him but thinking that maybe Jeff Parker hated him enough to take Liz away scared him to death.

Brock shook her head at him when she had to reclaim her sleeping daughter from his arms in Liz's room instead of in the nursery where she had waited for him. "What are you going to do after we go back to the city after New Year's?"

"Shrivel and die, probably." Max sighed heavily in protest but relinquished Davis. "Don't worry, I'll spoil her brother, too… but that'll come later… you know, when it comes time for him to drive."

Brock narrowed her eyes at him. "You will not."

"That's it. Out." Tess exclaimed, dropping Liz's leg and storming around the bed to pull her brother out of his seat. "Max. Get out of the house. Go grab a cup of coffee. Find some of your college buddies to hang out with. Take Miles if you need someone to talk to but get out. Don't come home before I call you."

"Good girl, Tess." Brock cooed to her sleeping baby. "Say goodbye to Uncle Max. He's going to go get a life. Yes, he is."

"Fine." Max grabbed a wallet off the night stand and slid his shoes on. His keys were around somewhere.

Thinking he sounded angry, Tess threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Take pretty pictures for me?"

"Yeah." He kissed her curls and then her forehead before kissing the ladies at the door. He paused before he passed through the threshold. "Write me a song today, Tess."

"What?" She glared at him. Like she had time to play when she had Liz's therapy and more to catch up on before the next semester and Drew was coming over later.

"You forgot a present under the tree." Max pounded the door frame. "It's something you've never played before…" He halted a moment to phrase his words. "I just want to know that my Tessie still hears the songs that hre God sends her to play."

Tess sank into a chair. She hadn't written a song in over a year. Not since she had woken up from the prison of her mind. It had been a prison because the Queen had known she was to be more even if Tess hadn't. Avaria was not content to sit and write songs while the world passed her by… but it was what Tess loved… how could she have forgotten?

Max touched Davis's cheek once more and cast a wistful glance at his sleeping beauty before heading for the door, Miles on his heels the second he had emerged from the house. "Miles, my good buddy, we need to talk. I'm going to get some building permits after the New Year. I'm thinking you could use a place closer… someplace your family could stay… we could have our own village up in these hills."

"I don't know about that. My wife likes our house."

"Well, I'm going to get the permits anyway… how about when I get the architect's design portfolio, I send it by the house for her to look over." Max climbed inside the car. "It's her choice, I guess."

"That it is." Miles nodded as he adjusted his holster under his jacket and sank into the passenger seat. "Where are we headed?"

"I don't know. I was ordered out of the house. I suppose something will find us something to do." Max threw the car into gear and sped down the drive to the main road. Suddenly he looked to his bodyguard. "Miles, it's Christmas, why aren't you home?"

"We're Jewish. We don't celebrate."

"But you didn't ask off, Chanukah."

"My shift that week was during the day. I was home every night for the festivities." Miles smiled to himself. "This year I gave my boy a special present."

"Oh?" Max pulled in at a coffee shop that was surprisingly open for the day. The two climbed out of the car to order and sat at an outside table before the older man resumed his story. "Special present?"

"From father to son since we became Miles." Miles pulled a picture from his wallet. "This is it."

"That's a nice brooch."

"We don't much wear it but it's tradition." He put the picture away.

"That's your father?"

"My grandfather." Miles nodded. "Story goes that some plantation hand found himself with a few slaves and some debt and needed to get some jewelry out of hock. A young man by the name of Joseph accidentally cleared the debt by accepting payment in the form of a child named Elijah. Joseph wasn't really a pawnbroker, just a young upstart hoping to save some money to build a house and get a wife. When he went home with this little slave boy, his father was furious. But it was new time in a new world and the rules were different. The hand, his name was something James, I don't think we bothered to remember much about him… but the next time he found himself in debt, he went back to Joseph and traded the brooch and that time, he gave it to Elijah as a way to remember where he came from."

"Why sell a child if he's got those other slaves?"

"The other slaves were working slaves, he figured he could sell off a by-product with no problem. Bank on potential servitude."

Max blinked at his bodyguard. "By-product."

"She wasn't pregnant before being given to James. We don't know her name or which of the other two men were her husband… for all we know, James is the father of the boy. Joseph's father was furious at him but made sure his son didn't learn bad in the new world so they treated little Elijah like family. Taught him to read and write but he earned his keep. As the boy grows older, he learns to build and while the family worked, he would walk four miles to the lumberyard to pick up their order and haul it back so they could build. Joseph was a meticulous counter, I'm told. It didn't do him much good but that's what he did. He counted the miles that young Elijah walked to and from the lumberyard."

"Wow."

"Mind you, I don't know if the story is true, it's how it's passed down from father to son. When Elijah hit the age of majority, Joseph bought his legal freedom."

"How?"

"The family business was jewelry. Not a real pawn shop but they made the stuff, sold it over-priced and occasionally bought pieces back. Joseph would overcharge and keep the excess off the books. Kept it a secret from even his wife until he had enough and then some for his adopted son, because that's how he began to look on Elijah… a part of the family. They all kept temple together, ate meals, socialized. Their own little community."

"Huh."

"So all that counting that Joseph did was wages, room and board. When they went to the notary to write the license of freedom, he handed Elijah a small cache of money to start his freedom the right way. Joseph didn't know the family name of Elijah's ancestors and Elijah refused James… Joseph's muttering about so many miles traveled and so many miles without a name and so… the notary writes Miles down as last name."

"That is quite a story." Max thought it over. "Quite a story."

"Again, near as I know, it's true story. The way my father told it. I asked my grandfather and he just nodded, said it was true as far as he knew, that it was the way his father told it." Miles sipped his cooling coffee. "You pay me well for standing around and looking mean."

"I know it's not exciting these days."

"The last time I left the house during my shift was to run Tess to her boyfriend's dorm because the new guy went with Brock to the city."

"I know I'm not fun these days. I don't have much reason to be."

"Been meaning to tell you how sorry I am about that."

"It's not your fault."

"I… I've been meaning to hand in my resignation but…"

"I wouldn't take it. He got away but not for long."

Miles's eyes snapped to the young man and Max realized that Kal had personally seen to the demise of the poor crazy fool. He opened his mouth to speak and then he couldn't. His eyes no longer saw a huge tower of a man before him, instead the men around him shoved him inside a small space. His knees touched his chest and the wall at the same time. His heart rate sped up and there was a jolt. Then he was spinning so very fast. Too fast. Squeezing his eyes shut, the feeling sickened him until finally it was almost calming. Then the spinning began in another direction.

"Mr. Evans!" Miles brought him back to earth. A crowd stood over him. "Thank God. I thought you had… I don't know. It was like a seizure. We should get you back to the house."

Max took the meaty hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Shaking he his head, Max protested. "I just need to move."

The crowd dissipated when there seemed to be no more to see. While waiting for Miles to close their bill, Max took deep breaths and leaned heavily on a chair. When Kal called, he confirmed what had just happened and rolled his eyes to find he had been cast in a movie he hadn't auditioned for. Still, he put up enough of a fuss and hung up on the old alien. He'd be there when he'd be there and not a moment sooner.

Movement caught his eye and a little girl stared up at him with the prettiest hazel eyes he had ever seen. He smiled at her and she hid in her mother's skirt. His camera snapped a picture of her when she peeked at him for a second. Her mother turned to apologize for her rude child and everything stopped. His finger slipped on the button and he got another shot off before the camera fell, caught by the string that was caught on his watch.

Max blinked and could barely form the name that raced off of his tongue. "Breena?"

Miles returned in confusion. He had never met this woman before. She looked away and then back nervously. "Hey Max, it's… been a while."

"Is that your little girl?" He nodded to the shy little girl.

"Yeah. My daughter, Hannah." Breena searched for a way out but there was none. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." Max shook his head slightly. "How old is she?"

"She turned two in August."

Miles really had to catch his employer that time

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DMartinez
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Part 46 – December 25, 2005

Post by DMartinez »

Part 46 – December 25, 2005

The last few hours were a blur. Sitting at the kitchen table and nursing a bottle of water, he waved to his bodyguard as Miles headed home for the night. Max stared at the number while the night shift fixed a pot of coffee and chatted amiably. "I got a call from the boss today."

"Oh?" What did Max care what Kal wanted when he had that number staring back at him.

"New movie starts in two days. You've got a flight out tonight."

"What?" Max breathed out harshly. "It's Christmas."

"Yeah but the weather is superb in New Zealand. That's what the boss said." Sommers sat with a stack of magazines. "If you need help packing, I could pitch in but I've got my case ready to go. Miles was saying you gotta make a phone call before you go or something?"

"The ladies?"

"Inspired by the snow." Sommers gestured to the window. "Went ice-skating. The Maraks got the kiddies. It's all good. We got the new recruits on them and old Steven is handling the ladies." He pointed to the phone. "New girl is coming in tonight when we leave and she'll stick around for the ladies when they get back. You make that phone call so we can go."

Max assumed that Miles had driven home and somehow had either done the research or gotten the number before they had left the coffee shop. Taking a deep breath and waiting until Sommers was completely engrossed in his magazine, he dialed. The first thing he heard was a beep. Answering machine. "Breena, I hope this is your phone. It's Max."

"Hello?" A male voice.

"Yes, I was calling for Breena."

"Yeah. Just a moment."

"Hello?"

"Breena?"

"Max?" She made a few noises and then took a breath. "Hi. Are you feeling better?"

"It's been a tough month for me… I needed to ask you… about what you said at the coffee place this morning."

"You know… I feel so bad about that… I didn't realize how it came out until it was out." She took a deep breath. "Hannah's not yours, Max… You didn't treat me so good but…"

"I'm sorry for that. I am… Are you sure? I mean… about Hannah?"

"Absolutely. She was premature and it was… after… you know. I honestly didn't think I'd ever speak to you again." There was a long pause. "Did you ever marry her?"

"No… I didn't. I… wasn't treating anyone else very well for a while there either. Listen… it was good to see you and see that you're… okay."

"Well, you're a real heart breaker and… you know, I'm glad you got cleared. I read in the papers…"

"hey, yeah. Me too."

"Um… I know it's short notice but I feel like you should come to the wedding. I'm getting married in two weeks."

"You know, I'd like to come but I'm… I've got a movie shoot in two days in New Zealand but I wish you the best. I hope that whoever he is makes you happy."

"He does. I… uh… actually met him because of you."

"Really? Someone I know?"

"We were doing some promotion for that movie and we had a military expert come in. We interviewed him for a long while… I got to talking to him and he mentioned he knew that woman you were seeing last."

Max glanced out of the kitchen at the staircase. "You're kidding."

"No… um… Sam and I have been dating ever since… Max, I am really sorry about this morning… You looked like you were having a bad morning to begin with."

"No problem. I probably deserved the panic. It was good to see you… I have to get going. Unfortunately I seem to have a film career."

"I wondered about that. You always told me you hated that stuff."

"And I do, I really do. I'll see you around, I suppose. Merry Christmas Breena and congratulations." He hung up the phone before it went on another seven uncomfortable minutes.

Getting to his feet, he dialed another number as he headed for the stairs. "I don't know where you girls are but Kal called me out. I'll be in New Zealand for awhile. Give me a call when you get in, Brock. It's really important." After a moment he added, "I'm fine. Ask Miles. I got a little scare but I'll explain that when I hear from you."

After getting his clothes together, he tried calling Brock again but only got voice mail. He checked his own mail and found the message from Kal. The plane ride would be long and he hadn't packed well but he wasn't worried about it. This was supposed to be 'the' role for Max Evans. What the first movie did for Zan, this movie would do for Max… maybe. Somewhere inside, he hoped it wouldn't. As much as he griped that Zan was getting the life, Max didn't want it at all. Zan needed it and he could have it.

February 3, 2006

New Zealand was nice. Where they filmed it was gorgeous. Max took many rolls of film on his down time. He scared the production crew more than a few times when he disappeared a few hours before a scene but all in all it wasn't too bad. He had missed New Year's and his cell wouldn't work and the time difference was too great so he sent postcards when he had the time, with short messages to express that he missed them and wished he was home. And he did. Maybe then he could deal with the nights when his dreams were not his own.

There were many of those nights. When he could feel this overwhelming vertigo. Sometimes when the direction of the vertigo lasted long enough, he could feel a humming in his bones. Not a white-noise-the-refrigerator's-running hum but an actual someone-has-a-song-stuck-in-their-head hum. The songs when he could recognize them always surprised him. One song would be from the epitome of the bubble gum society and the next from these pop-punk bands that were everywhere these days and then there would be some heavy rock, maybe some metal, then some rap… but always the good rap. The rap with audible lyrics and good notes to accompany the beats.

Australia was wet and windy… at least the part he filmed in. His phone worked sporadically and soon he gave up on it and went on sending his postcards, sending his love to his girls and the boys. For the first time on a shoot, he honestly had fun. Between takes he had his camera out to capture the landscape. He would fiddle with the developing process because it looked wrong. He needed to look another way. He needed the rocks to be copper and the water to be red and the sky… and the sky to be pink. The foliage was too green a green, it needed to be brighter. He was homesick and… and not for New Haven.

Sitting on the plane that was bound for Tokyo, Max missed a home where a rock on his property was his favorite place. A rock that held so many memories. Father-son talks, then father-son swimming lessons… but then those stopped. While his father fought, he fell in love on that rock. Snapping himself out of the memories, Max sat up on the plane and reached for the phone in front of him. Swiping his credit card, he cursed. He was on the opposite side of the world, no one would answer this late. When the voice mail came on, he sighed. "Sorry it's been so long but it'll be awhile yet. I can't wait to get home because I have news. Really great news and I can't do it in a message… I have to be there to see everyone. Kiss the babies for me. Slip Aja some chocolate for me if he comes around… and somebody hug the crap out of Ace for me. Tess, I want to hear that song when I get home and talk to Drew sweetie, you're cranky without him. I don't know how long I'll be in Japan but I'll try to be home by my birthday. See you all soon."

Max hung up the phone and opened his case. A present from Kal. He had found it in his suite when he first arrived in New Zealand. Now, it was half full of used rolls of film. He ran his fingers over the cool plastic containers. As long as he remembered to charge its battery, it kept his film nice and cool until he could develop them. He had tons to keep him occupied when he got home. He ran over the dates and frowned. What happened to the roll he'd had in his camera when he left the house on Christmas day? Maybe Miles had unloaded his camera for him. It wasn't unusual, especially if he had dropped his camera or the roll was full. Miles was a good guy.

February 13, 2006

Max tried to juggle the film case and the many bouquets of flowers but something was bound to fall. The house was quiet but he rushed in just the way he always did. No one had ever called him back and he was dying to tell someone. Tomorrow was Valentine's and that seemed perfect. "Tess Harding! I want my song."

No answer. He could hear the dog barking outside. Had Brock decided to leave Duke when she took the babies to New York? That's when he noticed the intercom. "What the hell is going on here?"

Dumping his load in the kitchen, he opened the back door to let Duke in. Duke jumped up and sniffed Max's shirt then, unsatisfied with his smell, padded off to find something else to sniff. Setting his jaw, he headed for the stairs because… it was silent. There were no beeps or clicks or hisses as he approached her room. Fearing the worst, he nudged the door open wide. Empty bed, clean sheets, machines all in the off-position. The room still smelled like her. Candles recently lit sat on the nightstand. Had it been so soon? Had she left him while he was gone? Yesterday? The day before?

Sinking into his chair, he stared at the bed. How? He hadn't climbed the steps in December to say goodbye because he couldn't bear to and because he did not want to go so far and for so long. Falling forward onto the bed, he sobbed. A crackling met his ears but he was busy.

"hhh-Hey. Is… ss Some… one… there? Dog… in The hhhouse." The voice finally reached his ears. Lifting his head, Max listened and stared at the intercom. "Dog. In the hhouse. Some… one… get hhim… before… he… eats me." Getting to his feet, he traveled down the hall, listening to the voice. "Wwhhoever, come get… Duke." His room? Pushing the door wider, he saw her laying on the bed with a radio near her mouth while she fought off Duke's lickings. "Sssome… one."

"Liz?" Max blinked. Her head turned slowly and after a moment a sort of crooked smile crossed her face. He fell to his knees and just stared at her. Eyes open, hands moving.

"Hhey… you. Been… gone… a long… time." She swallowed and lifted her head as much as she could around the dog. Max managed to snap his fingers and Duke dutifully sat on the floor. "I… got… question for you." She pointed to a stack of pictures next to the bed. "Dad developed… ththose. Who… Breena?"

Getting to his feet, he saw the pictures he had taken Christmas day. "She's… an old girlfriend. She's marrying Sam."

"Who?"

"Your Sam. The marine." Max clarified as he gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. "Funny, little world I crashed on." Tears slipped down his face as he reached for her hands. Her strong hands that had squeezed his in the depths of her sleep. Kissing them, he laid down next to her.

"Hands still work." Liz told him softly. "Doc says I did lot of squeezing you. Neck strong. Legs not so strong but… better than would be…with… out Tess."

"How long?"

"Christmas. Girls come home and I… wake… choking… food tube." Her halting speech and constant lip-licking made Max reach for his camera. "Saw books you made me."

"They're not done yet."

"Where were you?"

"Other side of the planet. Kal sent me to New Zealand, Australia… Japan. I was in L.A. for the last few days."

"Ladies. Worried."

"I'm sorry. I tried to leave a note." Max pulled her close to him. "What were they thinking leaving you alone?"

"Duke outside and Liz sleeping." She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. "Tess, one mean trainer."

"I'll bet." Max kissed her forehead to feel her warm skin, hugged her thin frame. "I should have come up. I should have come up before I left but I couldn't or else I wouldn't leave. We all know what an ass Kal can be."

Liz weakly pushed him away, shaking her head. "Kal loves you. Never meant to but does."

"What are you talking about?" Max turned her head so he could see her eyes.

"Kal still full alien. Sometime he forgets. He speaks to himself the way they speak to each other and I could hear him. See you hurting, killed him… and it wasn't a physical thing. Comes when Tess is gone so he can stare at me and monitor and find what's wrong but can't. Puts his hands on me and wishes he could do like you and Zan… Maybe he did. He was here on Christmas. I felt him thinking." Her eyes closed for a moment before they opened again filled with tears. "Some you aliens… are more human than humans."

"Liz?" Tess called out. "Is someone here? Brock call Miles."

"It's just me." Max spoke into the intercom next to Liz's head. A thundering of footsteps reached his ears. "Hey look, it's my ladies who never return phone calls."

"Some stuff on our minds more important." Brock breathed with a baby on each hip. "When'd you get home?"

"Little while ago. Got a surprise." Max kissed Liz's cheek. "But I've got one for you."

"What's that?" Brock tilted her head at him, looking more like the woman Zan had dated than the one she had become in the lonely months since he'd been gone. "There are few things that can get my attention these days."

"Fine. I won't tell you. I will tell Davis." Max rose from the bed to lift the girl into his arms. "Davis, did you miss me?"

"Of course, there was no one to spoil her while you were gone."

"I've got a secret Davis."

"Dada." Davis told him.

"That's right. Dada's coming home. He's about halfway by now."

"What?" Brock went still. Scott slipped from her arms and crawled away. "Zan's coming home?"

"That's what I said." Max kissed her forehead. "He's coming home."

March 10, 2006

Max watched Ophelia Marak coo over her grandchildren. Brock had been down with a cold and had asked her mother to help out but now she was having trouble getting rid of the well intentioned matriarch. There was just a touch of pain in those eyes as she picked up her granddaughter. "Do you get to see them often?"

Ophelia seemed startled by the question. "Oh, when Brock makes it out to the house once a month. Sometimes she stops in for the night when she's on her way back into the city from New Haven. How's your fiancée?"

"She's doing wonderfully. Liz is in physical therapy, relearning to walk. Her parents flew up this month to see her."

"That's good."

It was chit chat. Brock had taken the dog for a walk and asked Max to stay so they could talk. Mrs. Marak was just a little afraid of the man who had saved her granddaughter's life. "How old were you when you had them?"

She never took her eyes off the babies as she fought for the words. "27. Branda and Brett were my third pregnancy. They were just two months old when Brett died."

Max felt bad for asking. He hadn't thought it out before he asked. He had no way of knowing the woman had had such a hard time having children. "I'm sorry."

"David and I were married young and I tried right away and I'm sad to say my first child was stillborn. I was 19. Then we decided to wait awhile. When I was 24, I miscarried fraternal twins." She explained hastily. "My mother had similar results. My sister died when we were a few weeks old." She turned pained blue eyes on the young man sitting next to her. "You don't know what it means to me what you did… especially knowing about Liz in the other room that night. My daughter is all that I have and I'm glad she doesn't have to go through the same pain."

"I didn't even think. These are my brother's children."

"Damn straight." Heads whipped around at the voice. Looking tired and weary, Zan approached the cradle and picked up his son. Tears in his eyes he kissed the sleeping boy's head. "Eight months?"

"Yeah." Max nodded. It hardly seemed real.

"What's his name?" Zan let out a soft laugh when his son curled a fist in his shirt.

"Scott Zannamen."

Gently, he laid the baby back into his cradle. Then he took his daughter from his mother-in-law, who seemed to be a little dumbstruck. Tears slipped out of his eyes as he stared at the little girl. "How did it happen?" He sniffed and touched her fingers gently. "Her name?"

"Davis Zannamen." Max managed to get out. "It was Thanksgiving and she just… stopped breathing."

"I felt it happen and I needed it to stop happening. Good thing you were there." He seemed to be on the verge of losing it.

"Good thing we were still connected." Max touched the small child's head. "You healed her, Zan. I was just there to pass along the energy."

"What?" Zan's tired eyes snapped to his brother's. "Connected?" Then he ran it over in his head. "You got shot. That was you."

"Yeah." Max tilted his head.

"I was almost there, I think. I…" Zan furrowed his brow. "Liz?"

"Fine, now."

"How did you know any of that?" Ophelia cut in.

"Zan?" Brock froze in the doorway.

"One minute." Zan handed his daughter back to his mother-in-law and turned to greet his wife properly. Max shook his head and wished he had his camera.

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