Unbreakable - A Beautiful Lie (AU M/L ADULT) COMPLETE 5/5/17 + A/N 5/5/19

[L-J-L 76]

Great Chapter!!!! Please please please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max and Liz. WOW another great chapter. Love the way Max and Liz are together. I'm glad that Mr. Evans is finally going to tell Max and Liz the truth. Glad that Max and Liz are staying together. Can't wait to find out what will happen next for Max and liz.


From:
L-J-L 76

[Roswelllostcause]

I have to admit you scaredvme a little with the talk of breaking the connection! So glad that Liz talked some sense into Max. So Philip is going to let them see what he knows about the connection that is good.


Helen

Command is still on the run and hidding. But the snippers may have found his trail.

[begonia9508]

Another fantastic part!

It must have been really hard, for Max to give Liz the possibility to leave him and go back to her normal life... but would that be even possible?
I don't think so... Anyway, he needed to know that iz was totally with him and I hope he won't torture her again with the same problem...

Relationships are always difficult but with an alien, its thausandmals complicate and hard to deal with... and now, she even make the go-between for Max and his father!

Looking for more and thanks - great story... EVE

[keepsmiling7]

great new part.......but must admit Phillip/Mr. Evans kind of gives me the creeps.
I am glad that Max and Liz are bonded and that he is taking care of her.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[mela3]

Another top notch chapter. I agree with Max and am concerned that the "connection" has such strong control over them, especially with Max's sensitivity to being controlled. I wonder if the connection will steer them towards a specific path or to take risks, not necessarily bad, but not choices they would make on their own.

[mela3]

New Chapter Please!!!!!

[max and liz believer]

New Chapter Please!!!!!

Actually, you're in luck I'm currently replying to your feedback, so there'll be a new chapter within 30 minutes or something <3

Thank you!!

- Jo

[max and liz believer]

Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl)

I thought I would post two chapters worth of feedback every time you updated until I was all caught up. Thus you won't have to respond to twenty at once. *laughs*

*laughs* That's very considerate of you Even though I love your (lengthy) feedbacks, it takes me some time to respond to it, which might (unfortunately) postpone the process of posting the actual chapter

I love how Max is continually so gentle with her. Sometimes I think he's making up for all those times growing up where he *couldn't* be this gentle with her. Treating her this way is as much for *him* as it is for *her*. It's as though he's trying to heal all her wounds and traumas - even the ones she can't remember.

You're probably very right on this

I wonder if he is also trying to prove to himself that he can be good and loving as much as she needs despite his alien side.

Maybe there's always going to be that very real fear in him that Liz will never accept him because of his "race". That no matter who he is as a person, she will see some gross alien behind his (beautiful) features. This is, of course, only insecurities on Max's part. Liz doesn't view him like that. It doesn't make it easier for Max that a majority of his race is feeding into every prejudice there might be about aliens; meaning that he feels like he has to work harder to prove that he's nothing like them.

Okay so a couple of things about "babies."

While it may *seem* like I'm pushing for them to have children (because of all my questions and musings) in actuality I'm not. At least not yet. They're young, they've gone through a lot, they're healing, they're at the beginning of a revolution and it's not yet safe for them to have a family. Plus they deserve some time where it's just the two of them for a little while. That way they at least feel like they got to do things somewhat "normally."

It doesn't seem like you're pushing for them to have children at all, actually You're pushing for them to be happy and comfortable with each other. I don't think anyone wants them to have kids right now, in this situation, at this point in time. It would bring this story to a completely different level of complexity. And like you say; they need to be with each other first. Max might know Liz more than Liz knows him - from his years of watching her and coming along to her check-ups - but both of them still have a lot to learn about each other. Plus, Max needs time to work on his trust issues. On his self-esteem. He needs to believe that Liz really loves him. Before they start a family.

*That* being said - what I want to know (in case you've forgotten about the last hundred times I've asked - not that I'm persistent in my questions or anything ) is (1) is it possible for a Gaea to have a child with an Antarian and (2) what would be so special about that child?

1) Possibly. Why else would the Sergeant been trying so hard with Liz's mother?
2) I don't think anyone knows actually... Maybe it would be completely "regular". Maybe it would adopt powers from Max. Maybe it would have its own special powers. The possibilities are endless, are they not?

After all "Gaea" is in reference to the goddess of the earth and the mother of the Titans. If the Gaea line was found on earth (and not an Antarian based) then does the reference to "mother of the Titans" hold any clue? I imagine the offspring would be powerful but in what way? In their powers? Energy levels? Those two seem obvious. But it's like there's something else that we don't know about yet.

You're so smart. I'm leaving it at that *blows kiss*

Which means that the Sgt was probably told at one point that Nancy wouldn't be able to be put through many more pregnancies (even human pregnancies) before it permanently destroyed her chance of having *any* children - human or otherwise. Thus the reason she only had Liz. Otherwise I have no doubt that certain members of the society would push for her to have at least two daughters - if not more.

Interesting...

Obviously there's the issue of whether Liz's genetics are the right ones to produce a healer as well. Philip would know. I wonder if Max knows as well. If he does can you imagine how difficult that would be for him to keep quiet in regards to Philip's comment about needing to "keep the healing line in tact"? It would have been on the tip of his tongue to say that Liz was a viable candidate. (Without, of course, being as calculating as many others have been when it comes to their offspring.) Possibly the strongest candidate there is.

The healing trait is obviously extremely important. So one would assume that Philip has made sure that Liz is a candidate. Oooor he's ignoring that little fact, considering that the bond itself between Max and Liz is more important than children with the healing trait, considering the situation of their society... Would Philip sacrifice the need for the healing trait to be carried on for Max and Liz to create that powerful bond..?

I loved the teasing between the two of them about Liz's lack of self control. That and Max's reaction (tensing) when Liz was telling him she was having trouble opening the connection was too funny! And I *loved* them joking about being dopes together. It was this cool spring of water in this emotional desert they've been in. I could re-read that part alone a thousand times. So sweet and funny!

Thank you

I'm glad that Max was able to stop Liz from putting up her walls again when she automatically started to. It's as big a step for him as it was for her. It's the first time we e actually seen him (sort of) fight for their connection.

Exactly! Glad you noticed

It's an interesting theory - the connection killing Sean and the Sgt to keep Max and Liz safe. It makes a lot of sense. Though if it was directed by someone I can see that someone being Max more than Liz. She was more scared by the touch. Max would have felt her fear and become angry at the thought of her being hurt. Plus he's probably been more physically abused than she has. So he might be more likely to strike out due to that as well.

*smiles secretively* Yes, probably...

But I'm guessing the Sgt might not have been aware of the attack. Someone might have waited until he went down to Max's cell to give the green light to the rebellion to attack. Someone who might have been watching on the security cameras and then went down to join the rebellion. But then why not stay in the security room and give info to the rebellion of where any other enemies might be coming from? They obviously didn't if Liz was the one who had to call Philip. Hmm... maybe I'm completely off base. But then maybe the attack led by Dresden (yay for him being a good guy! They need as many as they can get!) wasn't some big "guns blazing" kind of attack but more of a covert rescue. With the purpose of getting in and out without being noticed. Which means their identities would still be hidden as well (hopefully).

So many theories *shakes head*

Secondly why leave before seeing how the two of them interact just by themselves?

Maybe he saw the reunion. Maybe he left just before the attack happened. So he even saw Sean and Sarge entering the room. Maybe he even saw Max getting stabbed.

On to lighter bits - I loved Liz promising to eat as long as Max made her pancakes. That was so sweet. And yay for fixing the pancake memory! *laughs*

Yay

I love that Max is the one taking care of Liz! I think it's good for so many reasons.

First he *does* have that control factor and everything has been *out* of his control for so long that this finally helps him get back to his sense of normal as well. In fact he's been "out of control" for years (very likely since the beginning as far as we've gotten hints of in this story) when it comes to Liz Parker's care and any treatments. This is the first time he's been *allowed* to have that kind of control (though I'm sure it wasn't up for discussion) and he fully intends to do things the right way regardless of what anyone else wants.

Yes. Right on.

While he might have been trying to do the right thing by giving them information I don't think he necessarily went about it the right way. (After all it made Liz shut down the connection.) He and the others in the rebellion have been preparing for this for a long time and have likely risked a lot. So for them time is even more important than what it appears to be. They'd be more likely to press Liz before she was ready.

Yes. And their apparent low understanding of empathy (which seems to be differing in "amount" between the aliens) doesn't help to make them understand that they need to take this a bit slow. Even when pressed for time. Instead, Max has to be the break. He's the "meddler" in all of this. The one standing with one foot in the alien world and one in the human world. In a way, understanding both worlds.

Lastly, it allows Liz to go from a time where she was angry (and rightfully so - occasionally) that Max was keeping things from her to an appreciative state where she's glad he *is.* She's learning that sometimes he keeps things back and that's a *good* thing.

Yup.

And I find it funny that Philip was concerned about them going on walks together. But then someone doesn't have to attack to have it be dangerous. They could just watch them, gathering information like how long they walk, where they're likely to go, when they turn back, if anyone ever comes with them or scouts it out before, etc. So in that way Philip is right to be concerned. Hopefully it doesn't ever become an issue.

Let's hope so...

It's nice that Liz and her father are able to talk about Nancy as well. For them to be able to mourn her as they go through and find out about the other part of her life is really important. Neither one of them would be able to mourn her properly if they didn't know about that at the side.

Yes, the time Liz spends with her father is really important. For so many reasons.

Even if she wasn't aware of them it's nice that others like Alex are able to fill in some of the blanks. Of course now you have me wanting to know what some of these funny situations are! *laughs* Poor Jo! There's just no winning. You give me a chapter that answers a lot of my smaller/background questions and it just makes me ask for more. *laughs* I'm going to have to send you five pounds of candy at some point.

*laughs* The neverending story, this one

Speaking of Alex and Jeff has Jeff been a part of any of the rebellion meetings? Obviously he is not an alien and he's technically in mourning but he does know about the Antarian's existence now. And it is his daughter that they're wanting from help from. And it was his wife they killed.

I would presume (as if I don't really know ) that the Antarians/rebellion is keeping Jeff on a "need to know"-basis. He's probably given only the information that he needs to keep himself and his loved ones safe. It's not very likely for him to be attending meetings with strategy about how to annihilate the enemy. He wouldn't be taking part in that battle anyway.

You can actually give yourself a pretty good injury if you push yourself too hard too quickly or if you do the poses too incorrectly. Most people don't realize it but it's true. (Of course I'm preaching to the choir here. *laughs*)

*laughs* Hihi, yes

Speaking of relaxing I found it hilarious that Isabel jumped up to yell at Max from a relaxing position. *laughs* That does seem like something she would do as we've gotten to know more of her. Though maybe it was not the best of plans for Max to simply sit and watch. Part of me thinks he knew that lights would flicker and all that jazz. I'm sure there's a reason he was working out so intensely while Isabel and Liz were doing yoga. And I'm almost positive it was to keep Kia mind from wandering to other thoughts. *laughs*

Let's just say this; Max is very aware of what he's doing

Interesting that Max is able to use his healing powers in that way as well - to warm up the places she still felt cold at. Now she won't have to take scalding hot showers that don't really solve the problem.

YES. You picked up on that! The connection between Liz needing warmth to abolish her "demons" and Max now doing what she previously used other methods to achieve. Good observation

So would Liz be able to heal as well? If she connected to Max a bit more deeply?

Possibly

In fact that got me thinking that he has probably always known whenever she had one. (Unless he was absent from school them and didn't stop by the Crashdown.) He would've been able to tell because of her colors.

*ahum* Yes. Probably.

Still when all this starts moving along or is over how are you going to bring Maria back into the picture?

*laughs* You'll see...

Now, in regards to your note at the end about there being no dialogue. I didn't even read it like that. I actually found it full of dialogue, just not really specific dialogue. I could hear where they laughed, where they cried and where Isabel and Max were "arguing." And, if you want to be technical, Isabel did have actual dialogue.

But seriously I think you've just developed these characters so well that we can hear them talking to each other even when we don't know all the exact words. You've brought them to life so reading it as it was written didn't feel like anything was lacking. Very few people can do that so you should be really proud of yourself.

Thank you!

And thank you so much for all of that feedback! You rock!!


L-J-L 76 - Thank you


Helen (roswelllostcause)

I have to admit you scaredvme a little with the talk of breaking the connection! So glad that Liz talked some sense into Max.

Sorry about that It's Max's insecurities that are bleeding through...

Good luck on that hunt!

Thank you for the feedback!


Eve (begonia9508)

It must have been really hard, for Max to give Liz the possibility to leave him and go back to her normal life... but would that be even possible?

Theoretically, Max should be able to break their connection. Because that's how it's like with "regular" connections. However, this is obviously not a common connection, so such a thing might not - as you say - be possible.

Relationships are always difficult but with an alien, its thausandmals complicate and hard to deal with...

Yep

Thank you so much for the feedback!


Carolyn (keepsmiling7)

but must admit Phillip/Mr. Evans kind of gives me the creeps.

I can fully understand if he has that effect on you. He's a bit tricky to get your head around.

Thank you for the feedback!


mela3

Another top notch chapter.

Thank you

I agree with Max and am concerned that the "connection" has such strong control over them, especially with Max's sensitivity to being controlled. I wonder if the connection will steer them towards a specific path or to take risks, not necessarily bad, but not choices they would make on their own.

You're a smart cookie. So very right. The connection might actually have an "agenda" of its own. Which could be a good thing, but with Max being so fed up with being controlled, it might backfire. Let's hope it doesn't...

Thank you so much for the feedback and for the bump!


From EIGHTY-TWO:

"I will show you my memories," Mr. Evans continued. "And some of them might be uncomfortable for you, but most are predominately informative. It will, perhaps, help you and Max understand the connection. Maybe it will help you put some pieces together that I myself haven't been able to."

I knew that he wouldn't hurt me. I was more certain of this than Max was, because I would forever remember the strength and the soothing of my pain supplied by him when tending to me in captivity, right after I had hurt Sean. I had seen another side of Philip Evans then and my trust for him had deepened.

It was not Mr. Evans that frightened me. It was the reminder of someone forcing their memories of the torment of my loved ones onto me.

"Will that be okay?" Mr. Evans asked when I remained silent.

"Yes," I gulped, extremely aware of Max's conflicting opinions about this whole thing.

"Why can't you just tell us?" Max asked tensely.

Mr. Evans reached for my free hand, his eyes silently asking for permission to take it, as he answered his son, "I think it's important for you to see it. Experience it. A lot of the details are difficult to describe with words."

I lifted my hand in permission for him to take it. His hand was dry, marked by time and possibly the continuous scrubbing with soap due to the hygienic needs of a doctor. But his pressure against my hand was just as even and secure as Max's.

Being held by both Evans men, I looked at Mr. Evans and gave him a simple nod.

"Okay," Mr. Evans acknowledged.

Gently, he initiated the feeding of the first memory he wanted to show us into our joined minds.

____________________________________

EIGHTY-THREE

Discounting some soft whimpers and the occasional unconscious whine, the babies in the maternity ward were asleep as I entered the room in the afternoon. I nodded a short greeting at Thomas Whitman, who was standing just inside the door, before walking up to the bassinet marked 'Baby Parker'. The newborn was deeply asleep, wrapped up in a white blanket with a small purple-and-pink striped beanie on her head.

I paused, hit by the innocence of the small human baby. The baby of our most recent gaea. The whole community was hoping that this newborn would be a gaea too, but it was still too soon to tell.

But I didn't have to look too close before something else about her made my heart fly off into a wild gallop.

Looking past her lightly parted lips, the relaxed features of her face, and tuning in to the soft breathing sounds she was making in her sleep, I already suspected that she actually was a gaea. Just like her mother.

But that wasn't the observation that had the skin on my forehead break out into cold sweat. There was something about her aura.

Auras matured with age; grew brighter and more vibrant, gradually extending further out from the body. Hence, the auras of practically all babies was a faint white light shimmering about half an inch around the contours of their small bodies.

But the Parker girl's aura reminded me of the aura of my own 3-months-old son. Just like his, her area was blinding if you focused directly on it. The innocent white color, representing the pureness of the baby's experiences and feelings, was glowing and billowing far outside of her body.

White contains all colors of the rainbow - it's simple science - and I had always thought it was best represented in the auras of children. In children - where their energies were balanced - equal amounts of all the wavelengths of light created the white glow.

Twisting agitation squeezed my stomach. I had only seen this type of aura once in my entire life. Around my own son. Its rarity had only recently been explained to me.

And now Nancy Parker's child appeared to have the same one-in-a-billion type of aura.

What did this mean? What did it mean for the Parker girl? What did it mean for Max?

"Everything okay, Philip?" Thomas asked behind me.

I straightened, brushed off my feelings, and gave the man (who had his own baby on the way) an impassive look. "Of course, Thomas."

Thomas nodded, his face revealing nothing, but his aura revealing plenty. He was suspicious.

I found solace in the fact that only healers could see auras in this way. Even if empaths, like Thomas Whitman, read emotions in the vibrations of the air around an individual, they never saw true colors. Consequently, if the similarities of the auras of my own son and the daughter of a gaea were of importance, no one else would know about it.

I gave the Parker girl a final look, before turning away and walking towards the door. Upon leaving the room, I told Thomas tensely, "Don't let her out of your sight."

"Philip," Thomas objected, confusion blotching his aura brown, "I have to keep an eye on Nancy. I can't stay here-"

"I'll keep an eye on Nancy," I assured him and nodded towards the baby. "You stay here. She's important, this one."

Max's father didn't grant us even a second of contemplation over what he had just shown us, instead rushing into the next memory.

As it started to take form, with Diane propped up against the headboard of a bed, with a small child in her arms, I realized that Mr. Evans wasn't necessarily feeding us the memories chronologically.

My wife had always liked my father. Maybe it was because of him taking an instant liking to her. Or maybe it was because he was different than the average Antarian. Different than even me. My father was 100% pure Antarian. He was born on the planet of Antar and had been sent to Earth as a 17-year-old. His age put him in a minority on the transport to Earth. Most of the passengers were below the age of 10 upon arrival. It would make more sense for my father to be one of the people most indoctrinated with the Antarian ways and customs than his co-travelers.

Oddly enough, however, my father displayed a surprisingly high number of human characteristics. Compared to his younger fellow travelers, George - formerly known by his Antarian name as Asai - displayed a wide range of emotions. His ability to feel with his patients, made him into the most successful healer out of the three which had boarded the vessel directed to Earth.

My father had been lucky. He had, together with another healer, been on the ship that had successfully landed on the foreign planet. The third healer hadn't been so lucky. Being assigned to travel on the second vessel launched for planet Earth, he had perished when that craft had crashed in the dark desert outside of the small town of Roswell.

Sometimes I got the feeling that Diane liked my father more than me. They could understand each other on some human level. I was still struggling to connect with the human emotions on display all around me. It was just easier to not let them affect you during healings. Being objective made it more painless and simpler to focus on the job. This made me into a rather technical healer while my father was more of an emotional healer.

My father had never held my lack of emotions against me. After all, I was more alien than he was. I was, in that way, more fitted for the Antarian society. I think this is why my father never felt he had the right to scold me when I didn't react in a more appropriate human way.

Father had taught me everything he knew. That's how the art of healing was passed on. Obviously, the genetic trait was a necessity to heal, but it alone did not mean that one became a healer. One had to comprehend how to utilize it.

As I looked down at my newborn son, asleep in the cradle next to our bed, I just realized that I would have to teach him some day. A strange constriction squeezed my heart and I swallowed slowly. My son.

My daughter was cradled in Diane's arms, her tiny hands holding tightly onto the thin towel my wife had placed over her own shoulder, as our daughter was being breastfed. I had been afflicted with an overwhelming emotion ever since I had held my children in my arms the first time. I knew of the concept of love, had experienced it in vague amounts during my upbringing and in my interactions with my wife, but this drowning feeling was different. It was soaking every part of my being, infusing me with not only a much stronger version of love, but also protectiveness and fear. Deep fear. That something would happen to my children. That I might somehow lose them. It was disconcerting; that feeling of loss of control. Of not being able to fully control the lives of others - my own children included.

"Are you okay, Phil?"

I looked up from my son's face - Max, we were naming him Max - and met the concerned blue eyes of the mother to these wondrous creatures in front of me. These helpless lives which I had just been entrusted with to raise into proper Antari- no, humans. I wanted them to be human. To blend in with Earth's population. This would be the first step in protecting them.

I forced a small smile onto my lips. Purely for her benefit. "I'm fine."

There was a soft knock on the open door into the bedroom, making me instantly tense, before I looked up and saw my father standing in the doorway.

I frowned. I hadn't noticed him enter the house. Hadn't even heard him make his way to the bedroom. I really was affected by these children. They were already interfering with the stealthy control I exercised over my surroundings.

"Knock knock," father said in such a human way that I felt like responding to him with a matching human mannerism. By rolling my eyes.

I refrained from this, straightening proudly next to the crib which was holding my sleeping son. "Father."

There was a softness to my father's eyes which always had me perplexed. How he could produce those feelings and transmit them so naturally. Making everyone around him at ease. Well, making every human being around him at ease. It had the somewhat opposite effect on Antarians. It made them naturally suspicious, wondering if he was putting on a show to conceal something. If he had a hidden agenda.

But father rarely did. He was as good-natured as he appeared.

"Hi, George," Diane said softly, discreetly pulling the small face towel down over her exposed breast, covering not only her partial nudity but also the softly rounded cheek of the suckling baby.

Father smiled and quietly entered the room, sinking down on the edge of the bed, giving Diane 110% of his attention.

I knew that feeling. I knew what it was like to bask in the attention of my father. He rarely looked at me that way, but when he did I felt invincible.

"How are you doing, Diane?" he asked gently.

Diane smiled and the double-edged pressure of love spread out like a thick heavy blanket over my chest. There was something wistful on her face and it was translating into pure energy around her body, making her literally radiate with energy.

"I'm in heaven," she said quietly, looking down at our daughter - Isabel - who had fallen asleep in her arms, with her soft lips still resting against Diane's breast.

Father looked up at me, his aura flickering with the momentary flicker of tension, as he questioned, "Did everything go okay? With the birth?"

His concern was real. Heavy. Laced with the memory of his own wife - my mother - and how she had died giving birth to me. How she had died, even when married to a healer. It was no wonder, therefore, that it had taken quite a lot of convincing to not have my father attend the birthing of my children. Diane really liked my father, but she would rather not have her father-in-law attend the delivery itself.

My father had been the first one I had called after the birth. I imagined that I could feel his relief over the telephone line when I informed him that everything was okay. That my children had been born without any tragedies.

I hadn't gone into any details at the time, just letting my father know that we were okay. Which was probably the reason why my father now - two days post delivery - wanted to acquire some facts.

"Actually," I said slowly, hesitating for the last time if I should consult him or not, "There's something I need you to see." But I knew that it was inevitable. He would see it for himself as soon as he laid eyes on Max.

Father frowned at me, glancing briefly at Diane, as if he had felt the flicker of insecure apprehension go through her aura. I hadn't told her. She didn't know. But she was good at reading a situation. She was good at reading people. Even closed-off Antarians.

"Philip?" Diane asked, a deep line of foreboding marring the space between her eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"

"Give us a second," I told Diane, not missing the feeling of annoyed impatience seeping into my body from her through our connection.

Father had already read my intention and gotten to his feet. I gestured towards the small bed with my sleeping son and my father gave me a contemplative look before stepping right up to the crib and peering down at my small offspring.

Even though my father was more in tune with his emotions than most purebred Antarians, he didn't wear his feelings on his sleeve. He showed just what he wanted us to see. He could even, to some degree, control his aura.

But despite a neutral face, his force field was not controlled when faced with Max's aura.

My heart was thrumming harshly in my chest and I realized that it mattered - really mattered - what my father's opinion would be.

He was taking too long to answer. I was watching his face closely, almost to the point of giving myself a headache, while father roamed his gaze down the newborn's body.

"He's strong," he mumbled after an eternity.

I took a deep slow breath. So he saw it too. I wasn't wrong. Something was different about my son.

"Yes," I whispered, my inhaled breath trapped in my chest.

"I've never..." father started, leaving me teetering desperately and anxiously on the tip of his unspoken words.

Father brought his hand down and gently touched his fingers against Max's cheek. Max's aura expanded locally to move out around my father's hand. To gather his grandfather's touch inside that bright light surrounding his young body.

The demand for clarification was on the tip of my tongue, but father spoke before it was spoken.

"He's a parim." His voice held quiet reverence in a way I had never heard his voice before.

"What are you saying?" Diane asked, reminding me of her strong fear and uncertainty trying to smother me through the bond. "What's happening? Is something wrong? Is something wrong with Max?"

Our backs were turned to her, our voices naturally hushed. I knew that the hinted symbolism of us cutting her out from what was happening was making her want to crawl out of her skin.

I ignored her. Right now, needing to understand what was going on with my son (and my father seemed to have some answers) took precedent over my wife's anxiety. "What is that? What's a parim?"

"Parim?" Diane questioned, and slightly annoyed at her interruption - which had my father turn away from the bed to focus on her - I mimicked my father's movement and we both came to stand at the foot of the bed.

I took in the seedy colors of concern in her aura, the flush of fear reddening her cheeks, the glistening sheen of unshed tears in her eyes. I hadn't meant to make her worry. If she could just wait for another second to get an expla-

"Your son is very special," father said calmly, giving me a meaningful look. The look of understanding between two men who were aware of that they had just witnessed something out of the ordinary.

She frowned. "Of course he is."

"No." I shook my head impatiently. "His energy is different."

I had told her about energies. About force fields and auras. I had briefly informed her of how I interpreted them and how I used the variations in the colors to guide me in diagnostics and in treatment.

But right now, her confusion resonated with my own. Right now, I didn't have any answers.

"Max is a pure soul," father said, moving his steady gaze between my face and Diane's. "In our culture it's called parim."

Diane's reaction was complete fear as she whispered, "What does that mean?", while my initial reaction was anger.

Why didn't I know about this?

Father licked his lips, before slowly replying. "It's something I've been told as a young boy. Almost like a mythical story. Rather similar to your story about Jesus. Just like there might be some truth to the life of Jesus, there might have been some truth to the story of parims. But I was always under the impression that it was hearsay." He licked his lips again and cleared his throat. "Um, fairytales. Yes, fairytales is a better description."

"Yes, father." I waved my hand impatiently for him to continue. "We understand the premise. Now, what is it?"

Father looked between myself and Diane again. Slowly. I got the feeling that he was trying to get the words right. Carefully choosing his words. "It's pure energy. A soul that has lived several times before; learning and developing, gathering energy. A soul made out of pure clean energy that is not constricted by bodily vessels or minds."

My mind was swirling. Humans had the concept of 'old souls'. They had various religions which to different degrees described self fulfillment and self actualization. Purifications of souls, in a way.

But I had a feeling that my father was describing something else. Something far beyond that.

"If left untainted, parims have an inner peace that give them the power to do anything they set out to do."

"What do you mean with 'untainted'?" Diane asked and I was surprised that she could find the words.

I couldn't.

"Tainted by society. Culture. Norms. Relationships. Matters that clutter the mind. Disturb the soul. Stain the purity."

"And..." Diane swallowed. "You're saying that Max is that? A pa-" She frowned, tasting the word. "A parim?"

"His aura is very unusual for that of a child. Actually, for anyone."

Diane looked at me, her confusion about my silence clear through our bond. "Is this dangerous? What does this mean?" Her eyes widened with the demand for an explanation. "Philip?"

I shook my head slowly, looking silently to my father for answers.

"As I mentioned, parims belongs to tales of fiction. They don't exist. At least..." he paused, glancing over at the crib holding my sleeping son, "At least that's what I believed up until now."

"What does this mean for Max?" I asked, my voice hoarse and sounding disturbingly unused.

"If his energy is properly nurtured, he'll become a very important man," my father responded cautiously. "As you humans say: the sky is the limit."

He attempted to smile, but even with my father's usually well-choreographed emotional facial play, he failed to pull it off.

"But it's not dangerous?" Diane prodded. "All that energy? Is not dangerous to him, is it?"

Father slowly shook his head. "No. The energy is not the least dangerous to him. But the knowledge of that energy - of who he is - is dangerous. It would be tempting to take control of him. To use that power. To shape him into someone that could be used in the wrong way were his allegiances to fall to the wrong people." He slowly licked his lips again, straightening. "Max will thrive with free will. To follow his heart. To follow the path of his energy. For parims - at least according to the stories - it's dangerous to force them into molds. To attempt to control them. Their souls are strong, but can nevertheless be easily destroyed. At least the purity of their energy can be destroyed. The thing that makes them into parims."

"Philip..." Diane whispered and I got my feet moving in response to her deep fear, grabbing the hand she was holding out for me in a quiet desperate request for consolation. I squeezed her hand tightly in mine, feeling the clamminess of her angst on her skin, as I sank down on the edge of the bed.

"You can't tell anyone about this, Philip," my father said, his eyes dark with seriousness and concern. "No one is to know his true nature."

Father slowly walked up to the crib and I watched him as he quietly observed Max.

Softly, as if speaking to himself, he added, "And unfortunately, in order to protect him, you have to raise him normally. With the risk of tainting his soul. But hoping that he will grow strong in light of this, until he is strong enough to stand on his own two feet."


TBC...
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A/N: Yes. Sorry. That was the end of the chapter, even though it was a bit abrupt. The dive into Philip Evans' mind will continue in the next chapter Thank you so much for your support and for reading!

[L-J-L 76]

Great Chapter!!!! Please please please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? I can't wait to read what will happen next for Max and Liz. Wow so Philip saw Liz as a baby and had a lot of thoughts going through I his head about what will happen for Max and Liz. Philip seem to have a lot going through is head for Max and Liz. liked how Philip was protective of Liz and Max when they were babies and kids growing up.

From:
L-J-L 76

[keepsmiling7]

WOW.....never have I read such a wonderful description of auras.........and their interpretation.
It was interesting to see how the "healing" was passed.
Max being a pure soul is not surprising.......his special energy can't be known by others that would try to use for evil things.
Now I want more,
Carolyn