Roswell Fanatics

Hi, Everyone:

Here's the next part. Hope you enjoy this part. Let me know what you think! I want to hear from you.

Here goes:

Part 11

It took several minutes to get home through the traffic. When they finally did arrive home, Max carried Liz into the room she’d been sleeping in. He laid her on the bed, hoping by now she would have regained consciousness. Unfortunately, she was still just staring off into space.

“Max, please, you’ve got to connect with her again.”

Max had hesitated in doing so, not wanting to feel he was taking advantage of Liz. But as each second ticked by, he became more and more afraid, if he did not, she may never come out of the haze she’d been in for several minutes. He didn’t want Isabel to hear him. So he silently thought to himself, ‘God, Liz, I think I’m in love with you. Please don’t leave me now, not when I’ve finally found you.’ And then he proceeded to kiss her with all the intimate emotion he could muster, considering he had his sister as an audience as he did so.

Max had only been holding Liz in an intimate embrace for a matter of seconds after he’d connected with her in the intimate kiss he’d just initiated, when he began having flashes. At first, they were flying so rapidly before him in his subconscious state that he was not able to comprehend what they were about. But as he was becoming more comfortable and relaxed with Liz in his embrace, he was beginning to feel as if the two of them had become one, almost as if their thoughts had merged together. As a result, he began seeing images that he knew must be coming from Liz, because they were not memories he’d ever remembered experiencing.

When his subconscious finally began registering what the flashes were about, he realized it was as if he were seeing them through Liz’s eyes. Then he realized he was seeing in the flashes things that had happened to Liz, beginning when she was only a child.

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

“Come on, Liz. Let’s go. Your mom has already packed everything we’ll need for our camping trip.”

“Oh, Dad, do we have to go? I don’t want to go camping.”

“Come on, sweetie. Do it for us. You’ll see. We’ll have fun. You just need to experience it.”

Not wanting to disappoint her mother and father whom she loved dearly, she finally gave in. “Okay, Dad. Let’s go.”

“That’s my girl. You’ll see. It will be great.”

‘Oh, joy,’ she thought to herself, as she got into the car with her family.

The second night of their camping trip, Liz had to go to the bathroom but didn’t want to wake her parents. So she quietly got out of her sleeping bag, heading for the outhouse…….but she never made it there. Before she’d even taken 10 steps, she’d been abducted.

As the flashback was concluding, it became immediately clear to Max how Liz was abducted. Though Max and Liz were still in their intimate connection and Max was only an observer of Liz’s flashes, Max realized, to his self-loathing and disgust, that she had been taken by aliens.

~~~~End Flashback~~~~~

As soon as Liz’s flashes ended, Max had enough self-awareness to bring himself out of the subconscious state he and Liz had been in. When he did, Isabel was sitting there, waiting anxiously for Max to tell her what had happened.

“Max, thank god! I was getting worried about you. What happened?” she asked.

It took Max several seconds to recover from his subconscious state. But when he finally spoke, his words stunned Isabel.

“Liz was abducted.”

Not sure she heard correctly, Isabel said, “What?!!”

“She was abducted, Isabel, when she was a child.” Even as Max was talking, a light went on in his head. Suddenly, he realized he knew when that had happened.

Watching Max’s expression as he spoke, Isabel could tell there was something else he hadn’t told her. “What is it, Max? What else is there?”

After having to think for another several seconds just to make sure he wasn’t making up what he was thinking, he said, “Isabel, remember when I told you about the young girl I healed in the mountains that time our family was camping?”

“Yeah. But what does that have to do with this?”

“Well,” he said, pausing momentarily, “that young girl was Liz.”

“What?!! Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Now I understand what had happened that day I found her.”

Then Max proceeded to fill Isabel in about what had happened to Liz at that point. Of course, he hadn’t had a long enough connection with Liz to learn the whole story. But he was now realizing, as much as he hated the idea of having to put his association with Liz on a professional level, he’d have to treat her as a patient to help her work through her traumatic experience.

His heart began aching at the thought of not having this beautiful young woman in his embrace. But he knew, if he were to have any kind of prayer of a relationship with her later, it would greatly depend on her being able to come to terms with what had happened to her. Even as Max thought of that, he realized that would be hard enough for her. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how she’d react if she ever learned he and Isabel were also aliens.

“What do we do now, Max?”

“The only thing we can do. I need to help her come to terms with her experience,” he said.

Even as he’d spoken, Isabel immediately recognized the sadness and emptiness in his voice.

“You mean we should” –

“Not us, Isabel. I need to help her in my professional capacity. I believe it might be easier for her to recover if she doesn’t know, at least for now, about us.”

Thinking only briefly, Isabel responded, “Yeah, I think you’re right, Max.”

Max couldn’t imagine being separated from Liz. So he again spoke. “Isabel, what do you think about the idea of letting her remain with us as I help her work through this?”

“Wouldn’t that be a little unorthodox, Max, you know, violating that separate ‘physician-client’ relationship?”

“Well, I thought of that, Isabel. But” – he paused, not quite sure how he could word this without alarming Isabel to his desire for Liz – “but she seems so vulnerable right now, besides the fact that she’s a long way from home, in a town of strangers.”

“Well,” Isabel said, “when you put it that way, I see what you mean. It’s bad enough we’ve had to deal with things on our own all these years. But at least we’ve always had each other, as well as Michael.” Isabel meditated on Max’s idea a little longer before continuing, “Okay. Let’s do it. But you realize, of course, it will have to remain strictly on a professional level?”

“Of course, I realize that, Isabel,” he said. But inside, his heart yearned to be able to reveal his true self to Liz. He prayed that, if he really could help her recover from her traumatic experience, that he would eventually be able to also reveal his feelings for her. But he knew it would require a lot of work on his part before that could ever become a reality. For now, he knew he would have to constantly remind himself of the ‘bigger picture,’ and be patient for that possibility.

After Max and Isabel had decided what would need to be done for Liz, he carried her into her room and gently laid her on the bed. Fearing it would be a very long time, if ever, before he’d feel free to kiss her again, he gently leaned down toward her and kissed her softly on her lips before grudgingly standing up and walking toward the door. “Good night, my love,” he said softly, as he quietly closed her door.

TBC

Hi, Everyone:

Thank you so much for your responses and kind words of appreciation. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!! It's really helping to keep my creative juices flowing.

I'm posting the next part and hope you'll enjoy it as well. As I've already said, please feel free to let me know what you think, or even if you have any questions.

By the way, I keep forgetting to mention, please read the first page for my disclaimer regarding the characters.

Now, here goes:

Part 12

After once again having the recurring nightmare of her abduction, Liz fell into a calm slumber for the next few hours. When her mind had had time to recover from the fear and anxiety of her most recent nightmare, her mind once again became active. This time her dream was about the person named Serena who’d been in some of her other dreams. In those dreams, she only ever remembered the woman leaving the room she’d been held prisoner in. But this dream was different from all those others. Up until now, she couldn’t remember anything more about Serena than that she’d left Liz to helplessly endure whatever her captor had planned for her.

~~~~~Dream Sequence~~~~~

Nicholas had been sticking all kinds of needles into Liz for several minutes, but she had been unable to cry out in pain and fear. Though her body was feeling it, her vocal cords were not cooperating with her when she tried to scream.

“Well, little one, I’ll be finished soon with drawing your blood. After that, I’ll let you rest just a little while before I begin my next series of tests, while I go and get the results of these tests. Then I’ll begin the next series. Now, you be a good little human and stay here until I get back,” he said, with an evil chuckle, before he left the room.

Within only seconds after he’d left, Serena immediately entered and quickly came up to Liz. Still, Liz was unable to scream, but the fear she must have been feeling was written all over her face. “You poor dear,” Serena said, as she looked down into her eyes. I’m so sorry you’ve had to endure such treatment. I’m here to get you out before Nicholas returns. Don’t be afraid, sweetie. I won’t let anyone else hurt you. I’ll get you back to your family as quickly as I can.”

After Serena stopped talking, Liz’s thoughts blanked out again momentarily, but then she could hear Serena’s voice once again. She had just laid Liz down on the ground, and Liz was able to see her surroundings. It looked like the forest where her family had been camping. “You’re too young to fully understand what’s just happened to you, little one. And having been informed of the fragile nature of human children, I’ve decided it will be best for you not to remember any of this until you are old enough to handle it emotionally. I’m also concerned that Nicholas and Khivar will try to track you down, using the transmitter that Nicholas implanted into your head. So I am creating a mental block in your mind that will keep him and others like us at bay. They will not be able to access any of these events from your mind, nor will they be able to locate you in order to continue their experiments. Unfortunately, because I have never made a connection with any humans in the past, I don’t know how powerful to make the block. So it is quite possible there will be some things you will still remember when you awaken. If that happens, I hope, when you finally have all these memories back, that you will be able to forgive me for not being able to completely block these traumatic experiences.”

Serena was trying to work quickly, fearing that any time Khivar and Nicholas would realize what she had done and come looking to destroy her as well as the child. But she also knew this might be her only chance to leave a record intact of what had happened to her and her people, leaving such an evil being as Khivar in charge. So she continued to transmit as much data into the child’s mind as was possible before she finally left her lying in the approximate location from which Nicholas had earlier abducted her.
~~~~~End of Dream Sequence~~~~~

After the dream ended, Liz slowly began regaining consciousness. Several minutes elapsed as she gradually became once again aware of where she was. Though she was now fully awake, she continued lying there, trying to discern any sounds around her. Within seconds, she realized she could feel the bed seemed to be tilting a tad, making her sense that someone must be sitting on the bed. As she continued lying there, she gradually became aware of the sound of someone breathing. Her first reaction to this was that of fear. But somehow she began sensing she could trust whoever it was that was there. With that quiet reassurance, she ever so slowly began opening her eyes, still not knowing who or what to expect as she did so. When her eyes were finally fully open and able to focus, she was able to make out….

“Max,” she said, almost in a question.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, with a slight smile on his face.

“I – I think I’m okay,” she responded. Not fully remembering the previous night, she asked, “What happened, Max? The last thing I remember was us being at dinner with Isabel’s boss…” She trailed off as memories came back to her of how she’d been pretending to be Max’s girlfriend, and how they’d been pretending to make out, though she realized, as the memories came flooding back, she had not been pretending.

As Liz had been talking, her statement had been left unfinished. Max could tell Liz seemed to be remembering something because he noticed how her cheeks began to flush.

“What is it, Liz? Did you remember something else?”

“Yeah. I kind of remember pretending to be your girlfriend, and how we…”

Not wanting her to feel any further embarrassment and not wanting to give any indication of his own true feelings, he said, “Yeah, that’s right. We were doing that. Do you remember anything else?” he asked, matter-of-factly.

When Max didn’t give any indication that their pretense was anything more than that, she oddly felt a sense of disappointment but at the same time a sense of relief that he hadn’t seemed to realize she really hadn’t been pretending.

“No, I can’t think of anything else. Why?” she asked.

Max wasn’t quite sure how to break it to her, but out of concern and for his own selfish reasons, he decided he must tell her what he’d learned about her, though he knew he’d need to be cautious about explaining ‘how’ she told him.

“Listen, Liz, you had another nightmare last night. And this time you were pretty verbal in it. So I know you were abducted.” He paused to see how she’d react to that information.

Liz was stunned at how blunt Max was, but she suddenly realized he’d made a statement rather than questioning whether it had really happened. “Do – do you think I’m crazy?”

“No, not at all, Liz. You were too specific with your words. I can’t imagine you could have made up such details.”

Intrigued by his statement, she asked, “What – what exactly did I say?”

So Max proceeded to tell her in detail about the dream she’d had. When he’d finished, he paused momentarily, trying to decide how he could tell her about him being a psychologist. When he could think of no easy way to do so, he just came out with it.

“Listen, you’re probably going to think I should have told you this sooner, but up until last night, it didn’t seem like something that would have just come up in the conversations we’ve had. So I hope you won’t feel I’ve been dishonest with you.”

“What is it?”

“I’m a psychologist, Liz.”

“So?”

“I specialize in treating those who profess to have been abducted.”

“’Profess’?” she repeated, in a somewhat wooden tone.

Immediately sensing her anger, he added, “I believe you were abducted, Liz. But there have been many people I’ve treated over the years whose stories have not been so believable. That’s why I have to word it that way.”

Still feeling uneasy about the word, Liz asked, “What makes you think the others were not but that I was? How can you so easily pick and choose who you will or won’t believe?” she asked, again beginning to display her anger.

Trying to maintain his own calm, he responded, “As I said, Liz, your description of the events was too specific not to have been real. Most other people I’ve treated have been extremely vague regarding times, names, locations – those types of things.”

Feeling herself relax a little, more from his calm voice than from his answer, she asked, “Can you help me?”

“I think I can, Liz. But it will require helping you to remember things that may not be easy for you. Sometimes you might hate me for pressing you to remember. Do you think you can handle that?” he softly asked.

“I have to remember, Max. It’s destroyed my life. I haven’t ever been able to have any relationships because everyone’s always thought I was crazy. I can’t bear to continue living alone, Max. I need to get past this once and for all. I want so much to get married and have my own family. But how can I comfort any children I might have when they’ve had a nightmare if I can’t confront my own fears?” she said tearfully.

Seeing the emotional pain Liz was feeling, Max couldn’t help but gently raise his hand to her cheek to softly wipe away her tears, all the while aching to just pull her into his arms and completely heal her right here and now. But he knew to do so would mean he’d have to explain about himself and the others. And he was certain Liz would not be able to handle that until she was able to handle what had happened to her.

Forgetting what they’d been talking about, Liz unconsciously rubbed her cheek against Max’s thumb as he wiped her tears. “Oh, Max, why can’t everyone accept me as freely and openly as you have?” she asked, as she suddenly found herself looking deeply into his amber eyes. Pausing only briefly, she continued, “All I want is for someone to love me, Max. Why can’t anyone love me?” she tearfully sobbed.

Max felt his heart break at her words. Momentarily forgetting about his doctor’s pledge not to become involved with a client, without thinking, he put his other hand to her face, softly stroked her lips with a thumb, then ever so gently kissed her soft lips. As he continued kissing her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him. Even after they’d stopped kissing, he continued holding her to him, trying to comfort her. In his mind he was saying, ‘I love you so much it hurts. I wish I could tell you that, but it’s too soon. Please hang on. Please hang on.’

Liz remained silent for several minutes as she unconsciously drew strength and comfort from Max. Then, almost as if she’d just awakened from a dream, she became aware of what had just happened between them. Not wanting Max to feel any further obligation to comfort her, and feeling embarrassed for having allowed herself to show her attraction for him, she forcefully pushed away from him. “Thank you, Max. I’m okay now.”

Hearing her words, Max too came out of his haze. “Listen, Liz…”

Before he could finish what Liz was certain would be an ‘I shouldn’t have done that’ speech, she said for him, “It’s okay, Max. I understand. As a doctor, it’s not ethical to comfort me that way. I won’t let it happen again. I promise.”

Though Max ached to let her know how much he loved her, he knew she was right. For the time being, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to forget his doctor’s oath. But he was determined now more than ever to help Liz on the road to recovery as quickly as possible so that he would be free to finally admit his true feelings for her.

With as impersonal a pat as he could make it, he gently patted her shoulder and said, “That’s okay, Liz. I’ll just make sure to have several boxes of tissue available as we pull back the layers of your dreams.”

Still trying to compose himself from his own emotions, he finally said, “So, when would you like to get started?”

“As soon as possible. I need to resolve this now. It’s wasted so much of my life already,” she said, forgetting how she’d felt in his arms just moments earlier.

“As soon as I can get settled with my friends, maybe we can set up appointments for you to see me,” she said, as she decided she better go start packing, so she could go find a motel.

Already beginning to feel the pain of her loss, Max quickly stood up. “Actually, Liz, I was hoping you would choose to stay here while I treat you.”

“But…would that be ethical, Max? I mean, I wouldn’t want to – that is – I don’t know what I’m trying to say,” she said, feeling flustered.

“Well, if you’d feel too uncomfortable staying here, I understand,” he said, again feeling the pain in his heart that he might lose her.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that – Max, you and Isabel have done so much for me already. I can’t just keep taking from you and not giving anything in return. It’s too much of an imposition. I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to repay you as it is.” Although those were all very good reasons, Liz knew she still was not being completely honest with Max. She finally decided, in order to be honest with Max, she’d have to be honest with herself as well. Perhaps it might also help her to see the futility of her feelings once and for all.

“And – and there is another reason as well.” As she continued talking, she decided she couldn’t finish her thoughts while looking at Max. So she turned her back to him and then said, “The truth is, Max, I’m really attracted to you. And I can’t promise that I won’t break down again, like I did earlier. And if you were to kiss me and put your arms around me like you did then, I know I wouldn’t be able to accept it without wanting more than that. And that’s not fair to you. I know you’re just trying to console me and help me, but I don’t want your pity. And I wouldn’t be able to bear seeing that pity in your eyes. So that’s really the reason I can’t accept your offer to stay here. I don’t think it would be fair to either of us.”

Max stood there, silent, overcome with too much emotion to be able to speak. It touched him deeply to hear her admission of attraction for him. He ached so much to tell her he felt it too. But he knew how necessary it was to help her first before he could get to that point.

Liz still had not turned toward Max, but she was already regretting having been honest with him. The fact that she had not yet heard him speak since she’d stopped made her fear that perhaps he’d changed his mind about treating her.

Max had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts of ways to possibly resolve the situation to realize the discomfort Liz must have been feeling. Finally, though, an idea popped into his head. “You know, Liz, you’re right. This probably isn’t the best arrangement.”

Still not facing Max, tears began to silently roll down Liz’s face. She realized all over again she shouldn’t have been so honest, but it was too late to take it back now, she thought. Then she realized Max was continuing to talk.

“But I think I have an idea that might remedy that.”

Hearing that, Liz immediately turned toward him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I was thinking. While I’m treating you, maybe I can stay with Michael. Do you think that would resolve the awkwardness?” he asked, hopefully.

Touched deeply by his thoughtfulness, she said, “Yeah, I think it would.” Still feeling deeply touched but too embarrassed to look Max in the eye as she spoke, she kept her head bent as she continued, “It’s really nice of you to do that, Max. Thank you.”

Max once again ached to tell her why he was so willing to be so accommodating, but he knew, if he had any chance to help her, he’d need to keep their relationship on a professional level, at least for the time being. “It’s okay, Liz. I’m happy to do it. I want to do whatever it takes to help you get through this.”

Both were silent for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say to break it. Finally, Max did so. “I’m – I’m going to go pack a few things and head on over to Michael’s.”

“But what about Isabel? Won’t she wonder why you left?” Liz asked, feeling bad that she was interrupting their lives yet again in this way.

“Don’t worry about Isabel. I’ll talk to her before I leave. I know she’ll totally understand and agree with me that it’s the right thing to do.” Not wanting to tempt himself to do anything he’d regret later on, Max quickly exited the room, heading for the refuge of his own room, so he could think clearly about what he’d need to do to help Liz, as quickly as possible, if not sooner.

Liz could only stand there, feeling helpless, not knowing what else she could say to this young man who had already given her so much in comfort. As soon as Max was out of sight, Liz found herself saying a silent prayer of gratitude, expressing her appreciation for having accidentally crossed paths with this wonderful young man and his patient, longsuffering sister.

TBC

Hi, Kittens:

You are absolutely right! I did leave out a part 10b. It has some information in it that I'll be referring to later. So I guess those other parts wouldn't make any sense without it. So I'm going to add part 10b right now. Thanks for pointin out the missing part.

Kittens, if you can answer this, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, if anyone else has a suggestion, I'd appreciate hearing from you as well. Once I add this missing part, should I resubmit parts 11 and 12, or just leave it the way it is, even though 10b through 12 won't be in order?

While I'm waiting to hear any suggestions, I'll go ahead and add 10b.

Thanks again, everyone, for reading and leaving your comments and thoughts.

Here goes with the missing part.


Part 10b

“Liz, are you all right?” Isabel asked, once she’d entered the women’s restroom.

Liz had just sat down on one of the chairs facing the mirror, holding her head in her hands. But when she heard Isabel speak, she quickly looked up. “Oh, yes, I’m all right. It’s just that – well – I don’t know if I should say.”

“Please, Liz, you can tell me anything,” Isabel prompted.

“Well, I know this is going to sound strange, but when your boss took my hand, it was as though I was getting a vision or something.” Liz trailed off, not sure if she should tell Isabel about her nightmares. She knew Isabel would think she was crazy.

“What kind of vision?” Isabel was intrigued by her comment. As far as she was aware, only she, Max, and Michael had the ability to see visions when touching someone else. ‘How was it possible this young Earth woman could do something like that,’ she wondered. The more she thought about it, she decided it might be best for Max to discuss this further with her. For now, she wondered if Liz would be able to continue with dinner.

When Liz seemed to hesitate, Isabel finally said, “Liz, I know this perhaps isn’t the time to discuss it right now, but I’d really like you to think about telling Max about your ‘vision.’ He might be able to help you figure out what happened.

“For now, though, do you think you can rejoin us for dinner?”

“Well, I think so. As long as I don’t have to have your boss touch me again. I don’t know if I could endure the possibility of another ‘vision.’”

“Tell you what. How about you sit next to Max and me. That way, you won’t be sitting close enough for him to touch you. Do you think that could work?”

After thinking briefly about her suggestion, Liz responded, “Yeah, I think I can handle that.” As an afterthought, she added, “I sure do hope I haven’t caused any problems for you with your boss,” she said to Isabel.

“Nonsense. If anything, you’ve just sort of confirmed to me that it’s not my imagination how strange I already thought him to be.

“Come on. Let’s rejoin Max. I’m sure he will want to know you’re all right. Let’s go, shall we?”

“Okay. I think I’ll be all right now.”

With that, they walked out of the restroom, with Isabel putting a protective arm around Liz. Isabel didn’t know why, but for some reason she felt the need to take very good care of this young woman.
*****
Max was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable sitting with Mr. Pearce. He had absolutely nothing to say to him. More importantly, though, he was becoming more and more concerned about Liz’s well-being. Just as he was getting ready to go check on her, both Liz and Isabel returned to the table they’d been seated at.

As soon as Max saw them approaching, he stood up, especially paying attention to Liz’s facial expression. Showing more than just genuine concern, he took her hand and pulled her toward him. He’d forgotten they were in a restaurant, surrounded by many onlookers. He put his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “Are you all right?”

Liz was extremely surprised to feel such emotion from this young man who had so kindly welcomed her into his home and shown kindness to her in so many other ways. Though she was tempted to wish his concern were that of a boyfriend, she had to remind herself their ‘date’ was just for the benefit of Isabel’s boss. But she decided she would play along with the façade she thought Max was putting on. So she did what she thought a girlfriend would naturally do. “I’m fine, hon. I just felt a little dizzy. But thanks for worrying about me. It’s so sweet,” she said, as she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

As she did so, she couldn’t look at Max because she immediately felt her face flush with desire. She was afraid, if she looked at him, he would see in her eyes what she was really feeling. And if he saw that, she was afraid he would patronize her later that they were, of course, only putting on a show for Mr. Pearce. She was already feeling weak from the emotions she was having. She was certain she wouldn’t be able to cope with his lack of interest in her.

Unknown to her, though, because she refused to look at him, Max was experiencing his own set of emotions. If she had seen his face, she would have realized he was feeling the same desires she was. He decided he would somehow have to find a way to continue the façade with Liz, in Mr. Pearce’s presence. After all, it was for a good cause, he thought.

As Liz began to sit, Mr. Pearce attempted to once again grab her hand. But Liz, acting out of instinct, said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Pearce. I think I might be coming down with something. If I am, I wouldn’t want to pass any of my illness on to you.”

“Well, you don’t seem to mind sharing them with Max,” Mr. Pearce said, not believing her excuse.

Again, Liz was responding out of pure instinct. “Well, Max is, after all, my boyfriend,” she said, as she casually snuggled up to Max, which was just a little difficult, since they were sitting in chairs. “We’ve kind of gotten used to sharing things like germs.”

Max was floored that she was responding in such a natural way to Mr. Pearce’s obvious doubts about their relationship. So he promptly followed along with her and pulled her more snugly toward him, saying, “Yes, we certainly have.” Even as he spoke, he pulled her even more closely toward him, giving her what appeared to be a very intimate kiss on an exposed part of her neck. Then they began giving each other little kisses that quickly turned into more heated ones.

Even as Max and Liz were ‘performing’ – at least she hoped they were – Isabel found herself actually beginning to believe it was possible they really were boyfriend and girlfriend. She found herself becoming just a little heated as she watched them. “Do you guys think you could wait at least until we finish dinner before you have your dessert?”

At hearing Isabel’s voice, both Max and Liz came out of the haze they’d both gone into as they’d actually begun acting like they really were being intimate. They both realized it was a good thing she had spoken up. Neither was sure they would have been conscious enough to put a halt to what they’d begun. Again, as they became aware of their surroundings, they both began to blush and could not look at each other, concerned about what the other was thinking.

Just as the meal was being served to the four, a waiter approached Mr. Pearce, saying, “Sir, there’s a phone call for you.”

“Not now, young man. Can’t you see we’re getting ready to eat?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the gentleman said to tell you it’s urgent.”

“Very well,” he said, as he took the phone from the waiter.

Ever since Max and Liz had begun their façade of the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, Max had kept Liz’s hand gently, but firmly, in his own. So he did not miss Liz’s reaction as they heard what Mr. Pearce next said.

“Hello….(Pause.) This better be important, Nicholas. You’ve interrupted a business dinner.”

As soon as he had spoken the word ‘Nicholas,’ Max immediately felt Liz’s hand go ice cold. Immediately concerned, he looked into her eyes. What he saw scared him beyond belief. It was as though she were in a trance. Nothing Max said seemed to bring her out of it. Fear bordered on panic as he continued trying to reach her.

Mr. Pearce had by now left the table, apparently deciding he needed privacy to speak further with this ‘Nicholas’ that seemed to have caused this trance Liz was in.

When Max still was having no success at getting her to respond, Isabel spoke up. “Max, I know this may sound strange, especially coming from me, but maybe, if you kiss her, you’ll get a flash of what’s going on.”

“What are you talking about, Isabel?”

“Max, I don’t have time to explain right now. Just do it, and see if it helps.”

Not needing any further prompting, Max immediately did just that. He pulled Liz toward him and gave her the kind of intimate, passionate kiss that he’d been wanting to give her ever since she’d kissed him the night before, in her sleep. Almost immediately, Liz responded to his kiss. Within only a matter of seconds, Max connected with her in a way he’d never imagined would have been possible. He was feeling all the passion he realized she had felt for him as they had ‘pretended’ to kiss earlier in the evening.

Only seconds after that, though, he got a flash of what had happened to her when Mr. Pearce had taken her hand. He could see in her vision someone named Khivar. Somehow, Liz seemed to recognize this Khivar as being the same person as Mr. Pearce. He didn’t have time to try to fully understand the rest of what he saw. For now, it was enough for him to grasp from Liz’s vision that this Mr. Pearce was not who he appeared to be.

Just as he was grasping the significance of that thought, Mr. Pearce returned to the table. “I’m so sorry for the interruption. A problem has come up that I need to handle. I’m terribly sorry that I must postpone our business dinner until another time. But, please, by all means stay and finish your meal,” he said, as he prepared to leave the restaurant. He seemed extremely distracted by the phone call, because he had not even observed Liz was still not fully responsive to her surroundings.

Though Max had not wanted to tip his hand to Mr. Pearce, as soon as he’d left, Max promptly turned to Isabel and said, “We need to get her out of here right away. I need to connect with her again to get a clearer understanding of what happened to her,” he said. Again, he tried shaking Liz to consciousness, but she was still not responding.

Growing more concerned and panicked by the moment, Max finally gathered her into his strong arms and carried her to the exit. Before doing so, he’d asked Isabel to take care of the check and any other loose ends, and then for her to meet them at the exit.

As soon as Isabel finished her task, she met Max at the exit. Max had already called for a cab. So once Isabel joined him and Liz, they quickly went outside to the waiting cab and headed home.

TBC

Hi, Everyone:

I still haven't completely decided what to do yet about some parts being out of order. Maybe eventually I'll put them back in order in another part of the website. Meanwhile, here's the next part. I know it's short, but I wanted to get Maria and Alex back into the story. So this is part of how I'm going to do that. Hope you like it. Once again, let me know what you think.

Here goes:

Part 13

Maria and Alex had been out of town, touring with their band, and were now finally heading home. They’d been moving around so much, she hadn’t had a chance to call her mom to get any messages that might have been waiting for her. With all their gigs, Maria had completely forgotten about Liz. But now that they were heading back, her friend’s name suddenly popped into her head.

“Oh, my god!” Maria yelled, as they were lying stretched out on some seats in their traveling bus.

“What? What’s wrong?” Alex said, as he jumped out of his slumber.

“Alex, I totally forgot about Liz. How could I have done that? She’s going to hate me for not being there. She’ll probably never contact me again,” she fretted.

“At the risk of sounding like I don’t care, Maria, she took her sweet time getting in touch with you as it was.”

“I know, Alex. But I just wish you could have heard her voice. She sounded so lost and so afraid. If something happened to her because I wasn’t there, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“There, there,” Alex consoled, as he gently wrapped his arms around Maria. He wanted so desperately to tell her not to be so overdramatic about the situation, but he also knew how deeply Maria cared for Liz. He’d heard about her a lot over the years.

“What am I going to do, Alex? How can I possibly find her? Maybe she even flew back home and never wants to speak to me again.”

Once again trying to console his best friend, he said, “Well, worrying about it right now won’t help you or her. Let’s just wait until we get back and get your messages from your mom. Then we’ll go from there. How does that sound?”

“You don’t mind?” she asked, sniffling.

“Not at all,” he said, again trying to console her. “Now, why don’t we just try to get some sleep. We’re going to need it if we’re going to be able to do any investigating when we get back.”

“Thanks so much, Alex. You’re the best,” she said, as she gave him a big mushy kiss – right on the lips.

“Maria, you know I love you; right?”

“Yeah.”

“But not in that way,” he said, as he wiped off the mush.

“I’m sorry, Alex. I guess I just got a little carried away.”

‘Just a little?’ he thought to himself. But to Maria he said, “That’s okay. Just don’t let it happen again.”
~~~~~
It had been a few days since Max had packed some things to stay with Michael, at least for the time being. He’d talked with Isabel about it privately, and she’d agreed it was the best thing to do. As Isabel thought back on her conversation with her brother, she knew he had been surprised she was in agreement with him, especially since it meant having a human living with her in the house, just the two of them. But Isabel was also aware of something that Max was either not aware of or was not willing to own up to. She’d watched them at the restaurant the night that Liz had gone into her trancelike state. Though both Max and Liz had tried to convince her they were pretending, she’d been able to see through both their facades. Isabel had seen her brother’s eyes light up in Liz’s presence. She’d never seen him so full of life and purpose, or so full of joy as when Liz was around. And then, when she’d watched them ‘pretending’ to kiss, she’d been able to tell that neither of them was pretending. Each was as deeply and genuinely enjoying the intimacy as the other was.

The thing that had been baffling Isabel was that Liz was human. Up until that moment, Isabel had always purposely kept humans at arm’s length, even the boys she’d dated in high school. And then, when she’d learned Max had broken the vow the three of them had taken about becoming involved with a human, Isabel had been initially furious with him for having endangered her life as well as Michael’s. But almost as soon as she’d met Liz, she had sensed something different about her.

She hadn’t been able to figure out why – that is, until Max had dropped the bombshell that Liz had been abducted. Suddenly, at that point, everything came into focus. Now things were beginning to make sense – such as her nightmares, and things Liz had seemed to know or understand intuitively about Isabel and Max.

Max had enlightened Isabel to a degree about the things that had been in Liz’s dreams – at least, the ones he’d been privy to, so far. So when Max had also stated, rather than asked, that Liz was going to stay there while he moved in with Michael for a while, Isabel was in total agreement with the arrangement.

TBC

Hi, Everyone:

This message is short and sweet. Here's the next part. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

Here goes:

Part 14

Max had immediately begun his sessions with Liz, hoping they’d be able to promptly get past the deep horrors still locked away in her subconscious. They’d been at it now for the last week, having an hourly session each day. Though they’d covered a few steps in her recovery, they were nowhere near progressing as rapidly as Max had desperately hoped. Each session had ended the same way, with very little to show for their efforts. Liz was becoming more and more depressed that they were not progressing, and was ready to give up. It was killing her that she was wasting Max’s time and that she was imposing in their home, and had nothing to show for their sacrifice. Finally, when their session ended on Friday, Liz couldn’t take it anymore.

“Max, I really appreciate all you’ve tried to do for me, but I have to face the fact that it’s not helping. I don’t want any more of your time or to impose on your family any further.”

Max suddenly felt a knot in his stomach. “What are you saying, Liz?”

She said simply, “I’m going home, Max.”

“But it’s only been a week, Liz.”

“Yes, but it’s been five days. I haven’t remembered anything significant at all,” she said, showing the first signs of breaking down.

But Max didn’t notice. Against his own better judgment, he had become emotionally attached to Liz, and he couldn’t let her leave now. What he said next was not his mind talking but his heart. “You can’t leave, Liz. I won’t let you.”

“What did you say?” Liz asked, shocked by his words.

“You can’t leave,” he said once again, this time in a deadly calm sounding voice.

“Who do you think you are, telling me I can’t leave?” Then she continued. This time, though, she began breaking down, making no sense as she spoke. “It’s your fault. You’re a quack. You don’t care about people like me. It’s your fault,” she continued, as she began pounding on his chest.

Liz’s total collapse was enough to make Max come out of his emotional haze. He realized it was best to just let her get it out of her system. So he let her continue pounding for several seconds, wanting her to release all the emotional stress that had been building in her the last couple of days.

Finally, within a minute or so, her pounding ceased, and she almost collapsed to the ground, but not quite. Max grabbed her forearms and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay, Liz. You’ll get through this,” he quietly said, as he gently stroked her long, soft hair. “It’s okay,” he kept saying, until her sobs subsided. Then they just stood there for several minutes as Max quietly continued comforting her.

Finally, she stopped crying and looked up at Max with her big, beautiful, doe-brown eyes. “I’m so sorry, Max. I didn’t mean the terrible things I said. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s okay, Liz. I know you didn’t,” he said, as he continued holding her in his arms.

“But I shouldn’t” –

But Max wouldn’t let her finish. He just gently put an index finger to her lips. “Shh. It’s okay. You don’t need to explain,” he softly said.

But Liz still felt impelled to apologize.

This time, though, to prevent her from speaking, Max brought his lips to hers and kissed her. It began as a slow, gentle, soothing kiss. But within only seconds, without either of them understanding why, the kiss changed and took on a more urgent, feverish pace, both feeling a hunger for the other they couldn’t seem to satisfy. Not fully conscious of their actions, they continued connected at the lips as they both began trying to undress one another. Max was undoing the back of Liz’s dress as she was unbuttoning his shirt. Simultaneously, they began massaging the bare skin of each other.

Then it happened. Liz went into convulsions as she went into a trance-like state. Immediately, Max began having flashes of the pictures flashing disjointedly in Liz’s head. He saw the little girl he’d found so long ago in the woods. He already knew it had been Liz he’d found.

Another flash: he saw the little girl tied down. There was someone in the room with her, a man and a woman. The woman was quiet, but the man was going to hurt the little girl. He was going to begin injecting her with needles.

Suddenly, Max could feel himself wanting to get sick as he continued seeing the horror of what the little girl had endured and was going to endure.

But unexpectedly, the man left the room. Once again, Max saw the woman he’d initially seen begin speaking to the little girl. She’d left the room but had then returned.

~~~~~Memory Flash~~~~~
Within only seconds after he’d left, Serena immediately entered and quickly came up to Liz. Still, Liz was unable to scream, but the fear she must have been feeling was written all over her face. “You poor dear,” Serena said, as she looked down into her eyes. I’m so sorry you’ve had to endure such treatment. I’m here to get you out before Nicholas returns. Don’t be afraid, sweetie. I won’t let anyone else hurt you. I’ll get you back to your family as quickly as I can.”

After Serena stopped talking, Liz’s thoughts blanked out again momentarily, but then she could hear Serena’s voice once again. She had just laid Liz down on the ground, and Liz was able to see her surroundings. It looked like the forest where her family had been camping. “You’re too young to fully understand what’s just happened to you, little one. And having been informed of the fragile nature of human children, I’ve decided it will be best for you not to remember any of this until you are old enough to handle it emotionally. I’m also concerned that Nicholas and Khivar will try to track you down, using the transmitter that Nicholas implanted into your head. So I am creating a mental block in your mind that will keep him and others like us at bay. They will not be able to access any of these events from your mind, nor will they be able to locate you in order to continue their experiments. Unfortunately, because I have never made a connection with any humans in the past, I don’t know how powerful to make the block. So it is quite possible there will be some things you will still remember when you awaken. If that happens, I hope, when you finally have all these memories back, that you will be able to forgive me for not being able to completely block these traumatic experiences.”

Serena was trying to work quickly, fearing that any time Khivar and Nicholas would realize what she had done and come looking to destroy her as well as the child. But she also knew this might be her only chance to leave a record intact of what had happened to her and her people, leaving such an evil being as Khivar in charge. So she continued to transmit as much data into the child’s mind as was possible before she finally left her lying in the approximate location from which Nicholas had earlier abducted her.
~~~~~End of Memory Flash~~~~~

As the last picture of the memory faded, Max and Liz sank to the ground, both completely drained from the emotional experience they’d just shared. That was the scene Isabel walked in on when she returned home.

“Max, what are you doing?!!” she screamed.

“It’s okay, Isabel. Nothing happened,” he said, as he just continued sitting there, with his arms around Liz.

“That’s not how it looks from where I’m standing,” she said, with a definite hint of anger in her voice.

Max knew he needed to give Isabel an explanation, but he was more concerned about Liz, especially after what had just happened. So he gently pulled away from Liz to try gauging how she was doing. He was surprised to see that apparently Liz had passed out from the extreme stress of the whole episode. So he positioned Liz in his arms so as to carry her to a more comfortable location, her bedroom. As he began carrying her there, he said to Isabel, “I’ll explain everything to you in just a minute. I’ll be right back.”

But Isabel wasn’t so sure anymore that she could trust her own brother. So she followed him, just to make sure nothing else Max might do would surprise and shock her.

Once Max had laid Liz down and made sure she was resting comfortably, he quietly left her, leaving the door slightly open, just in case he heard her stir.

TBC

Hi, Everyone:

Sorry part 14 got posted so many times. I was having trouble with my brouser, and several times it didn't look like the part had been accepted. Instead, I was getting a blank screen, giving the appearance that nothing had been uploaded. I guess, next time that happens, I should wait a few hours to see if anything actually did get uploaded. Anway, to thank you for your patience with me, I'm going to submit part 15 right now. Thanks again for your input. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here goes:

Part 15a

“Now, just what exactly were you trying to pull, Max? If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I would have never believed you’d stoop so low and try to take advantage of Liz like that,” Isabel said in an angry and shocked tone.

“It was nothing like that, Isabel. And if you’d just give me the chance, I’d be happy to explain.”

“This better be good, Maxwell,” she said, as she sat down, crossed her arms, and began tapping her foot. Max knew her well enough to know that that motion meant she was really restraining herself from using one of her powers on him.
*****
Finally, after several minutes, Max had finished telling Isabel about the flashes he’d gotten about a woman named Serena, and how she’d apparently saved Liz from the hands of another person named Nicholas.

Just as Max was finishing, he realized he’d just mentioned the name ‘Nicholas,’ and he immediately remembered the episode at the restaurant when Liz had gone into a trance when Mr. Pearce had mentioned that name. Suddenly, he felt his stomach knot as he realized the full impact of what that meant for Liz. As he remembered that point, he was again reminded of how Liz had so suddenly pulled her hand away from Mr. Pearce, and later learned how, to Liz, he was this ‘Khivar’ person. And suddenly Max was hit full-on with the implications of Liz’s intuitive insight.

When he suddenly stopped speaking, Isabel asked, “Max, what is it?”

“Isabel, remember how Liz reacted when Mr. Pearce held her hand?”

“Yeah. So?”

“And then, when Mr. Pearce got the phone call from someone named ‘Nicholas’?”

“Max, what are you saying?”

“Isabel, Liz has met Nicholas before.”

“How do you know that it was the same Nicholas she met?”

“Because in the flashes I’ve gotten from her, both the names ‘Nicholas’ and ‘Khivar’ were mentioned. Isabel, don’t you see, Liz recognized Mr. Pearce as the person ‘Khivar.’ And Nicholas was the one who abducted Liz as a child.”

Suddenly, things were becoming crystal clear to Isabel. “Do you think Mr. Pearce knows who we are, Max?”

“I don’t know, Isabel. But I can’t help but think, without any of us even realizing it, Liz may have saved you from whatever harm Pearce could have brought to you once he did find out who you are. I have a feeling, though, if he didn’t know about us then, it won’t be long before he finds out. Which means it’s urgent that we find out as much from Liz as we can before Pearce finds out all about us. Didn’t you tell me recently that Mr. Pearce is out of town right now?”

“Yeah. In fact, he left that night he got that call at the restaurant.”

“Did he leave any kind of message as to how long he’d be gone?”

“No. He basically said for however long his ‘business’ would take to resolve.
“How long do you think it will take to do that get whatever information we need?”

“I’m not sure, Isabel. But after what happened today, I don’t trust myself to do it on my own. I need your help.”

“You mean you want me to try to dreamwalk her?”

“Yeah. I don’t have any idea how else to go about it, do you?”

Before Isabel could respond, though, Max suddenly doubled over in pain.

“Max, what’s wrong?”

In between labored breaths, Max said, “I need Liz right now.”

“What? Why?” Isabel asked, not understanding.

But Max couldn’t answer. He had barely enough energy to start dragging himself in the direction of Liz’s room. Isabel didn’t understand why Max seemed so determined to get there, but she was too concerned about the pain he seemed to be in to dwell on his motives at that moment. So she assisted him to get there.

Still not having been able to explain it himself, Max lay on the bed next to Liz and pulled her into his arms. Neither Max nor Isabel had realized that Liz herself apparently had been in some kind of pain of her own. It wasn’t until Max was pulling her toward him that Isabel could see beads of sweat on Liz’s brow, and that she too had apparently been in pain, because of the fetal position Max was pulling her from. Even as Max had pulled Liz toward him, Isabel silently witnessed both their bodies become more relaxed, as if whatever pain they’d both been in miraculously disappeared, or at least subsided, once they were safely in one another’s arms.

TBC

Hi, Everyone:

I'm getting eager to get further on this. So I'm adding the next part of 15. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

Here goes:

Part 15b

But Isabel’s sigh of relief did not last long. Within only a minute or two, Max sat up on the bed and began removing his shirt, his pants, and then the rest of his clothing. Immediately, Isabel was alarmed. “Max, what are you doing? You can’t do this,” she said, as she tried to approach him and shake some sense into him. But before she had the chance, Max used one of his powers on her, pushing her out the door and locking it. Isabel was now afraid for Liz, and what Max might do to her in his apparent state of mind. Out of fear for Liz, she ran to the phone and called Michael.

As soon as she heard Michael’s voice, she yelled into the phone, “Michael, you’ve got to get over here right away. Something’s terribly wrong with Max.”

Trying to calm Isabel down, Michael said, “Calm down, Isabel.”

“You don’t understand, Michael. You’ve got to get here right away. I don’t have time to explain over the phone. Please, just get over here as soon as you can.” She hung up before Michael could say anything else. He didn’t have a clue what could be wrong, but he’d never known Isabel to become alarmed unnecessarily. So he threw himself together and headed over to the family home as quickly as he could.
*****
Only seconds after Isabel had hung up the phone, the doorbell rang. ‘That can’t possibly be Michael,’ she thought, as she headed toward the door. With extreme caution, she asked, “Who is it” through the door.

“My name is Serena. I don’t have time to explain anything else. But you must let me in immediately. There’s a young woman in there who needs my help immediately.”

Isabel immediately recognized the name. Max had just been telling her about someone by that name. Although she did not know this person, she sensed she could be trusted, and immediately let her in.

Without any further introduction, Serena asked, “Where is she?”

Without uttering a word, Isabel pointed to Liz’s room.

Serena knew the kind of strength she’d be up against, but she was prepared for it. She blasted the door down just in time to get Liz away from Max before he had a chance to consummate a relationship with her. Of course, it was no easy task. She had to paralyze Max with another blast of her energy before she could get to Liz. She quickly and discreetly covered Liz’s naked body before anyone could see her in such a state.

She was able to work so quickly, even Isabel, who had been right on her heels, had not seen everything Serena had done. But the position she found Max in gave her a clue as to what had almost happened. She loved her brother dearly, but she was devastated to see what he had almost done.

Serena saw the devastation on Isabel’s face as she was attending to the young woman, not knowing what her name was. “Don’t blame him. It’s not his fault.”

For the first time since the woman had arrived, Isabel had the presence of mind to ask, “How do you know that?”

“Your brother is only reacting to the cycle that is in him.”

“What are you talking about? How do you know what’s inside him, or that he’s my brother, for that matter?”

“I did not know until I saw the crest on his chest.” Before she said anything further, she injected Max with something and then removed Liz from the room and motioned to Isabel to come with them.

Once they were safely outside the room, Serena closed the door and sealed it, and then went on to explain about herself and how she seemed to know something about them.

TBC

Hi, Everyone:

I'm baaack! You've all been asking some really great questions. So I hope this next part answers at least some of them. If it doesn't, I look forward to hearing from you again.

Now, here goes. Hope you like it.

Part 16

“I know you have a lot of questions. I will try to answer them as well as I can.”

Just as she finished her sentence, Michael came rushing into the house, afraid of what he would find, only to see a stranger calmly speaking to his sister.

“It’s okay, Michael. Serena took care of things.”

Before Michael could say a word, the woman said, “Let me explain everything to you both.”

For the next hour or so, Serena explained as much as she could, beginning with how she seemed to know Liz was in danger. She began by telling the story of the little girl who had been abducted all those years ago by aliens. Of course, this story in itself was news to Michael, since neither Isabel nor Max had had a chance to tell him anything about Liz yet.

“I tried to protect her childlike mind from the trauma she’d undergone, but I didn’t have any experience to know to what degree I’d need to do that. So I wasn’t sure whether or not it would be enough for her. For years since then, though, the transmitter had never been activated. So I was certain she was all right. Only recently, however, the transmitter has been sending out signals. I knew it would only be a matter of time before Khivar and Nicholas became aware of the transmitter’s activation and found the girl. For that matter, I couldn’t be sure if it was they who had somehow activated it. I’ve been tracking it ever since the signals began, finally narrowing it down to here. Which means, if I’ve located her, Khivar and Nicholas won’t be far behind.”

When Serena paused, Isabel spoke up. “But what would make the transmitter not start giving off signals until now?”

“I don’t know how to answer that. Maybe if you could fill me in on how you met this young woman, that might help.”

So Isabel went on to explain everything she and Max had learned about Liz, starting with how they had learned she was abducted, and then how Max had been her first contact after being returned to Earth. Again, this was all news to Michael. He could only sit in stunned silence, listening to the two women.

Suddenly, everything became clear to Serena. She now understood why Max was experiencing the heightened need to mate with Liz, and went on to explain.

“When Max healed Liz, he marked her as his own.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“It means he’ll do whatever it takes to mate with her.”

“But how was it possible for him to mark her? Max was only a child when he did that,” Isabel said.

“When our people mark each other, it is for life, regardless of their ages. Of course, since Max was so young and was not reared on Antar, he had no way of knowing the implications of what he’d done. Just as human children don’t develop all the emotional and physical attributes related to procreation until they are older, it is the same for Antarian children. That imprint for procreation remained dormant in him until – well, in his case, it remained dormant until Liz came back into his life. As soon as they made the initial physical contact, though, even something as simple as shaking hands, the imprint became active.”

“How long will that imprint rule him, as it did tonight?” Isabel asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I’m afraid there is no cure for it, if that’s what you’re asking. The only cure, if you can call it that, is for him to mate. Now he’ll stop at nothing to accomplish that goal. That’s why it’s imperative that you get Liz out of here tonight. She’s no longer safe around Max. Even though, based on what I know of you and your family, he comes from one of the most honorable families on Antar, he cannot control that imprint. It is a part of him.”

Before either Isabel or Michael had a chance to ask any questions, they heard another voice. “And what will happen to Max if he does not mate?” It was Liz’s voice. Unknown to the three, she had been conscious enough to hear the entire discussion, and now understood more about what had been happening to her as well.

“Liz, how much have you heard?” Serena asked.

“Everything.”

“I’m sorry you had to find out about Max and the others this way.”

Liz would not be deterred. “Answer my question. What will happen to Max?”

Knowing they’d have to find out sooner or later, she simply said, “He’ll die.”

“What?!!!” Isabel gasped.

“Isn’t there anything that can be done?” Michael finally asked.

Before Serena could respond, though, Liz again spoke. “Yes, there is. I’ll mate with him.”

“Liz, you don’t know what you’re saying. We have no way of knowing if there will be any side effects that may result from such a union.”

“You mean with humans?” Liz asked.

Serena could only nod affirmatively.

“Well, perhaps there’s something you don’t seem to understand. If we don’t mate, I think I may die as well.”

“Why would you think that?” Serena asked.

“Because I’ve been feeling ill myself recently. It’s only when I’m in contact with Max that I don’t feel ill.”

As she spoke, Isabel was remembering how she’d seen Liz earlier in a fetal position, with beads of sweat on her brow. Remembering that, she spoke up and related what she’d seen.

“But, Liz, there’s so much more connected with such a union besides the physical aspects of it. You can’t possibly comprehend the complications involved,” Serena said, half hopeful, half fearful of the possible consequences.

“I know you’re right about that. But at this point, if we don’t, Max and I will both die. That’s a certainty.”

Knowing it would be useless to try dissuading her, Serena said, “There’s nothing else to be said, then.”

“Actually, I do have one request. Since we are on Earth, I’d like to feel some semblance of ‘normalcy’ in all this chaos. So I’d want us to at least be married.”

“But Max is in no condition for that,” Isabel said.

“All I’m asking is for us to be married by a justice of the peace. That should not take long to arrange.”

“As a matter of fact, I have a contact who can fill in for that, and take care of all the necessary paperwork,” Serena offered.

“Then we need to do it immediately, for both our sakes,” Liz said.

Michael and Isabel felt helpless. There was nothing they could do for their friend and brother but to do what was asked. They only hoped Max would forgive them for not discussing it with him first.

Just as Liz had thought, she too was failing fast. She knew she would not be able to hold on much longer without Max. Fortunately, Serena was true to her word. Within a matter of hours, the ceremony had taken place. She and Max both looked like death warmed over. So Liz was grateful that it was over within a matter of minutes. No one understood why it was that Liz at this point in time seemed to be the stronger of the two, but no one questioned it. As soon as they’d said their ‘I do’s’, Liz mustered up what energy she could and shooed everyone out of the house. Even Isabel felt it would be better if she spent the next several days at Michael’s, knowing Max and Liz would have a lot they’d have to come to terms with on their own.
*****
The next morning, Max awoke to find himself lying snuggled up to a nice warm body, and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. But suddenly it dawned on him he had no clothes on, and neither did the body lying so perfectly fitted next to him. Startled by this realization, he immediately began trying to untangle his body from the one next to him so he could figure out what was going on. Needless to say, he was completely startled to hear Liz’s voice whispering into his ear.

“It’s okay, Max. It’s only me,” she softly said.

“Liz, what’s going on? What happened last night?” he asked, afraid he’d done something he shouldn’t have.

“You don’t remember?”

“No, not a thing.”

“We got married.”

“We what?!!! But why would we do that?”

“I guess I need to fill you in, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said, as he tried to be as discreet as possible in putting some space between him and Liz.

“You and I almost died last night.”

“What?”

So Liz went on to reveal to him all the events of the preceding night, all the while missing the gentle caress Max had held her in when he was sleeping.

When she finished, she asked, “Do you have any questions?”

“Only one,” he said, as he gently caressed her cheek. “Did I hurt you in any way?”

She gently raised her hand to his wrist and, holding it, said, “No, Max. Nothing happened between us last night.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I’ve been awake the entire time.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to make sure you made it through the night,” she responded, as she gently moved the hair that was hiding Max’s amber eyes.

Max was so deeply affected by this young woman, especially after learning she’d been awake all night, watching over him. “Liz, you need to get some rest now. Let me watch over you this time.”

“Do you feel well enough?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, as he gently pulled her closer to him, so he could once again feel the warmth of her nearness. Within a minute or so, Liz was fast asleep, with her head resting in the curve of his arm. Max gently kissed the top of her head and lay there patiently for the next several hours, until Liz awoke, watching her and holding her tenderly as she slept.
*****
Liz awoke five or six hours later from the most peaceful sleep she could ever remember having, with no dreams. When she opened her eyes, it was to see a pair of beautiful amber eyes staring down at her.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Max said, as she opened her eyes.

“Do you really think that? You’re not just saying that because….?”

“I’ve thought that since the first time I laid eyes on you.”

Liz became uncomfortable at hearing his flattery. She’d never thought of herself as beautiful, and she was having a really hard time believing Max’s words. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was just his way of beginning his seduction, with only one goal in mind, especially after having already been told by Serena how powerful Max’s imprint was.

Liz didn’t respond to his words. Instead, the expression on her face was that of uneasiness. It dawned on Max that Liz didn’t believe his words, that perhaps he was just feeding her a line.

“You don’t believe that I really feel that way about you, do you?” he quietly said.

Tears of sadness began trickling down her face as she quietly shook her head in the negative.

“Will you allow me to show you?” he pleaded.

“But how…”

Before Liz could finish her question, Max lowered his lips to hers and ever so slowly began kissing her, all the while hoping he’d be able to reverse the connection so that she could experience all the love he’d felt for her in the last few weeks. When he’d finished thoroughly kissing her, he pulled slightly away to try gauging her reaction. “Did it work?” he asked

“I saw things, Max! I saw the very first time you found me in the woods. I saw when you were in school and the girls would try to get you to go out with them. But you wouldn’t. You’ve only ever thought of one girl all these years, that little girl in the woods – me. And then, when we first met, you felt a connection with me, but you didn’t understand why.”

As Liz was recounting just some of the flashes Max had shared with her, she became so overwhelmed by the affection he’d revealed to her that tears once again began streaming down her face.

“Please don’t cry, Liz. I didn’t share those things with you to make you cry,” Max said, as he tenderly began trying to wipe away her tears.

“I’m sorry, Max,” she said, in broken sobs. “It’s just that I never imagined anyone could ever feel the affection for me that you just shared. I never thought it was possible,” she finished, lowering her head toward her chest.

Max once again raised his hand to her cheek, continuing to wipe away her tears. “Liz, there’s something else I want you to know that you didn’t see in the flashes.”

Max’s words were broken up and in halting phrases as he spoke.

“What is it, Max?” Liz asked, feeling uneasy about what else she didn’t know.

“I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it,” he quietly said.

“It can’t be that bad.”

He looked directly into her eyes and said, “Oh, it’s not bad – that is, I don’t think so.”

“Well, then, what is it?”

“I’m in love with you, Liz. I have been for quite some time now.”

“You – you’re not just saying that to” –

“To what, Liz?”

“Max, I didn’t tell you everything either. The things that were said last night, there was something I left out.”

“What is it, Liz?” he asked.

Liz tearfully continued, “Serena said something about the imprint, Max. She said I was in danger because you’d stop at nothing to mate with me. That was why Isabel found us in the compromising position she did.”

Although Max was stunned to learn what Serena had said, he was completely embarrassed to learn that Isabel had observed him at a time when he was not in control of himself. But at this point, he tried to focus back to Liz’s emotions and what her concerns were.

“Are you afraid I’m going to force you to make love to me?” he chokingly asked.

Liz tearfully looked directly at Max. “No, Max, it’s not that. The truth is, I guess I’m afraid that it’s not really me you want but” –

Before she could finish, Max again kissed her, this time sharing with her the thoughts he’d had just days earlier….

‘I love you so much it hurts. I wish I could tell you that, but it’s too soon. Please hang on. Please hang on.’

Max lingered in the kiss after sharing that flash with her, wanting so desperately to give her the love he knew she needed. But now, knowing what her fears and concerns were, he was afraid he’d push her further away if he tried to initiate anything further than a kiss. Moments later, he reluctantly pulled away from her, hoping she wouldn’t be angry with him for even just kissing her. After he’d pulled away, he watched her for several seconds, waiting to see how she’d respond.

Liz lay there momentarily after the kiss, with her eyes closed. Suddenly she jerked, almost as if she’d just come out of a daze. When she opened her eyes, she immediately searched out Max’s eyes. Touching her hand to his cheek, she said, “Oh, Max, I love you too, so much. I think I have ever since we met on the plane.” And before Max could respond, she pulled Max toward her and kissed him deeply.

When they broke apart out of necessity, Max held both his hands to her face, saying, “I think somewhere deep inside me I felt it when you slept with your head on my shoulder during that flight.” Then he pulled her face toward him and returned the deep, scorching kiss. Within moments, even as they continued kissing, their hands began to wander, exploring one another’s bodies, and things progressed naturally from that point on.


TBC

Hi, Everyone:

Max and Liz are not out of the woods yet. As you will see in this next part, we can't forget about Khivar and Nicholas. Read on and see what they've been up to. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Here goes:

Part 17

(Meanwhile, days earlier, the night of the business dinner)

Just as the meal was being served to the four, a waiter approached Mr. Pearce, saying, “Sir, there’s a phone call for you.”

“Not now, young man. Can’t you see we’re getting ready to eat?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the gentleman said to tell you it’s urgent.”

“Very well,” he said, as he took the phone from the waiter.

“Hello….(Pause.) This better be important, Nicholas. You’ve interrupted a business dinner.”

Mr. Pearce left the table to finish his phone conversation and then returned to his dinner party.
“I’m so sorry for the interruption. A problem has come up that I need to handle. I’m terribly sorry that I must postpone our business dinner until another time. But, please, by all means stay and finish your meal,” he said, as he prepared to leave the restaurant. He was obviously extremely distracted by the phone call, because he was not even aware Liz was not fully responsive to her surroundings.
*****
As soon as Mr. Pearce left the restaurant and got into the limousine he’d taken to the restaurant, if anyone had been around, they would have seen a brilliant ray of light emanating from the limo. Moments later, he spoke to his driver. “All right, Nicholas, we need to head back to Antar immediately. I’ll need a couple of hours to plant a deceptive trail as to my whereabouts for the next few weeks, just in case anyone develops any curiosity about me.”

“Yes, sir. Where shall I take you?”

“Let’s head over to my office first. I need to leave instructions for Isabel. I had hoped to ‘weave some of my magic’ on her tonight, if you know what I mean; but there was a complication at the restaurant. Isabel not only brought her overly protective brother, which I had already planned for, but he brought with him a date. I was actually initially relieved at first. But the girl acted really strange. I went to shake her hand, and she acted as if I was a leper. Can you imagine? Me, the ruler of everything and everyone on Antar; and she treated me like a commoner. You better believe, if I ever have another chance with that one, I’m going to teach her a thing or two about rendering me the honor and devotion I deserve.”

“Just let me get my hands on her, sir. I’ll take care of her for you.”

“I know what you’re capable of, Nicholas. We’re still reaping the benefits of your experiments with that Earth child we abducted years ago. It’s really a shame she somehow escaped. We could have learned so much more by now and been so much further ahead.”

“Well, I could always find another child to complete the experiments.”

“No, Nicholas, it’s too dangerous. I’ve been studying humans for a long time now, and I’ve learned that humans are extremely protective of their children. As much as I’d like to give you the okay, we’re better off to stay under the radar and just continue with our experiments on the adults.”

“As you wish, sir.
“May I ask a question, sir?”

“By all means.”

“Why haven’t you attempted any experiments on Isabel? I’ve seen her. She’s quite a dish.”

“You have a good eye, Nicholas. But I have something more noble in mind for her. I’m planning to make her my queen. As I said earlier, I was going to proceed with my plan tonight, but that little slip of a girl they brought with them interfered.”

“Is it possible they could have been playing a deception with you, sir, you know, her being there to pretend she was with the brother?”

“I doubt that very seriously. If you could have seen how they were all over each other, I’m sure you wouldn’t have such doubts.

“Anyway, once I get things taken care of at the office, we need to head back to Antar immediately. I want to be as well informed as I can about this transmitter that has been going off. Of all the transmitters you’ve implanted over the years, this is the first one that has ever been activated. I need to learn as much about that as I can.”

As Khivar finished his sentence, Nicholas was pulling up to his office. “Wait for me here, Nicholas. I should be down in about fifteen minutes or so.”

“Yes, sir,” Nicholas responded, as he sat back in his seat and listened to the radio. He figured he might as well enjoy it while he could. There wouldn’t be any time for relaxation when they got back to Antar.

TBC