As Max and Liz were beginning of their talk. Maria was walking out of the spare room in the home of her mother, and stepfather. She had just put her son to bed and watched as he fell right to sleep. Because Charlie was past tired, she could see. She had seen it as they were having a quick bite to eat at the Crashdown. Arriving just as the kitchen was closing up, and she had thanked Jeff Parker profusely at his allowance that the kitchen would stay open a little longer while they fried up their order.
She and her son had not talked much at the restaurant. Because they were both overloaded on emotion, and she knew her son well. When Charlie experienced too much. He often shut down like father, like son she thought. When that happened. They often did not say anything, and she paid for their meal, and she thanked Jeff once more, and they had come back to the home that her mother shared with her stepfather, Jim Valenti. A home she had not known because she was out of Roswell before even, she graduated. And the home she shared with her mother during her formative years had long been sold. She knew some of the money was set aside in a trust fund for Charlie should he choose to go to university. I hope he does she thought. Because her son was smart and could set the world on fire with his brain.
Amy could see how emotional her daughter was and sighed as she watched as Maria marched her son into his bedroom and stay in there for a little while before coming out. Seeing her mother watching her. “Thank you, Mom?” she murmured as she gave her mother a quick hug. She had known she had not spent much time here at the house since coming into town. She did feel guilty about that.
“For what?” Amy asked.
“For being here,” Maria murmured. “And thank you for also allowing us to stay a little longer,” she thought. “I know the plan was for Charlie to head home tomorrow, but now that I am here, well, we are sticking around slightly longer…” she sighed. “Our plans have changed?”
“Don’t they always,” Amy smiled with love for her daughter. And happiness to finally be in the home she was sharing with her husband with her daughter. She had moved in with Jim after graduation had gone down without incident. Something that her daughter had not even come home for. Nor even Liz. They had stayed where they were. Liz in Vermont. Until she headed off to the university from there. And her daughter staying in New York where she had moved in the late winter, right after her eighteenth birthday. Graduating in absentee. She remembered how she had picked her daughter’s diploma up even though Maria had just barely enough credits to graduate because she left in the middle of the term.
Not that she needed her diploma for the career she had been able to carve for herself. And she and Jim were immensely proud. She had been able to even see a few of her daughter’s performances over the years. But she missed her daughter. She missed seeing her, and the surprise when she found out she was a grandmother had been one that had confused her. Maria had not been forthcoming on that development until after her grandson had been born. And once she saw him and saw him grow up. She had come to realize, why.
Because Charlie was such a replica of Michael.
Maria had not had to tell her, but she knew. A mother knows So, she kept it a secret from back here, except to tell her husband, and knew that Charlie coming to town was bound to bring a lot of emotions to the surface even though she had not seen Michael in many years.
“You can stay as long as you need to,” Amy offered. “We have plenty of room. Most of the time it was just Jim and me, and Kyle was only here for a few days before the wedding, so we have plenty of room for you and Charlie to stay in.”
“Thanks Mom,” Maria sighed. “This was not the plan.”
“I know,” Amy smiled. “Sometimes we get surprised by what is destined for us,” she sighed. “But as long as you and Charlie are happy and healthy?”
“We are healthy,” Maria murmured. “Happy is open for debate.”
“What is going on honey,” Amy asked. “Is it Michael?” she asked. “I mean Jim has told me some of it,” she sighed and was quick to assure her daughter. “Of course, not all of it, and I do not even think he knows all of it but some of it at least…”
“Is it not always Michael?” Maria asked. “It has since I was fifteen years old.”
“I am sorry honey; how can I help?” Amy asked.
“You cannot because it’s on me,” Maria murmured as she thought of the life, she had carved out for herself, and of Michael. “All this time. I though I had walked away because of the life was not for me. It was all so overwhelming. The life Michael was leading. And the life Liz and I got dragged into, much of by our own choosing. So, I walked away. Then I greeted by a life altering surprise. Charlie. A growing surprise. But he was a manageable one. And something I could control on my own, and we were able to make a life for ourselves in New York. I was happy. He was happy. I have never regretted anything about it except maybe I did not tell Michael about the existence of our son. But I know he had too much baggage back then because of the way he grew up to think he could be there for us, even though he wanted me, and wanted to try again. But we seesaw so many times in high school, how was I supposed to know if it could work. And especially knowing a baby depended on us…”
“That is how it was for me with your father,” Amy murmured as she knew she did not speak often or not at about the time with Maria’s father. “You were older when he left us. So, you remember some of what went down. But not all of it. We never really got each other, which is why he found it easy to walk away. I never wanted you to suffer because I could not make it work with you father. Or for the fact he did not want to stay in contact with you. We were two different people. As you witnessed with my taste in men before I found Jim. But I found Jim. We surprised ourselves because we both had been burned by prior relationships. But you learn and you grow. And in the meantime. Sometimes we are open to surprises. Life is never 100% guaranteed, and it always a bunch of choices.”
“I know,” Maria sighed as she thought of her life in New York. “I was happy in New York… I never gave Roswell a second thought,” she murmured, and it was the truth although looking at Charlie made me always remember. “I know you wanted to see me, and see Charlie here, and you were okay with coming to see us…”
“Because you are my daughter, and Charlie is my grandson. I will always make time with you. You should not feel obligated to come back here unless you want to?”
“I am not obligated,” Maria murmured. “If I was, then I would never have come back. Even now. Seven years away from this town has shown me how much I am tied to this town whether I want to be or not,” he sighed. “The moment I got here; it was like I never left…” she murmured to herself And, it still in the same drama that I was when I left…
“You should stay as long as you want,” Amy sighed although she could see ho overwhelmed her daughter. “Can I ask. Are you okay, honey?”
“I am fine,” Maria sighed. Even though she knew she was anything but okay. “I do not know if Jim has told you or not. But Michael is sick.”
“He mentioned something like that, but he does not know the story” Amy asked as she would give anything for her daughter’s life to be easy and simple because even though she did not know everything that happened. Anyone could tell that high school was one thing after another for her daughter, and it was often tied to Michael, and the seesaw relationship he was in with her daughter. Which is why she vanished before she even knew it, when Maria suddenly went to New York on quest for a record deal. Once she had turned 18 and had control of her, life. The record deal did not work out, but she managed to find a career in other avenues. And as a result, she had been gone all this time. And it always had something to do with Michael when it involved her daughter. “Do you know what happened?”
“No,” Maria said. “No one does. It is all so mysterious. I left him Mom. I should still not feel so tied to him. We have Charlie, but still, I walked away, and that bond was severed.”
“Love is sometimes like that,” Amy said. “I know me, and Jim are so different from you and Michael, but we did not work until we worked,” she sighed. “We tried multiple times before we managed to find the time to make it work. You mentioned he is sick? Is there any chance for him?”
“If you believe the doctors, no” Maria sighed. “And then today happens.”
“What happened?” Amy asked.
“He might have woken up, or he’s starting too” Maria sighed to the surprise of her mother. “I do not know how to take it if he is waking up” she sighed as she had felt so much elation at the possibility that he might wake up, but she did not know what it would mean should he actually open his eyes and come back to them.
“That is marvelous honey,” Amy asked.
“I know, it is” Maria said as if something was making sense for the first time in many years. And why did she still want to run from it and other hand. All she wanted was to make sure Michael woke up and be with him.
And yet she had another life calling out to her…
Oh, Max Liz murmured was facing the same dilemma as she stood in front of Max and could see how emotional he was over the possibility of Michael coming back to them. She should be running far away. And yet here she was falling right down the rabbit hole, and much closer to Max as a result “Are you certain,” she could not help but ask. What does Serena think?” she asked. As she thought of comas in general, and how extremely hard it is to wake up once you have been under for as long as Michael had been.
There is so few cases, although it has been known to happen but to think of it actually happening, “Serena does not know,” Max said as he walked away from Liz and started to pace the living room as Liz could only stare and understand just how complex this is. “When she called me, it was because Maria decided to take Charlie to visit Michael” he asked. “Apparently Charlie decided today was the day to question his mother about who his father is, and Maria answered them, and instead of waiting for the coast to be clear or get advice whether it was a good idea. Although apparently, she did call Serena. Anyways. She told Charlie to see him. And when he did, Charlie was insistent that Michael was the one who was in his room the other night. Another worldly visitor you can say.”
“Oh shit,” Liz said as she was not worried about language given Micah was fast asleep in the other room. She felt for her friend and her decision. She knew Charlie was smart and would have been asking one of these days. And now that she knew how smart the younger generation was, and how they pick up the simplest of things, without knowing the full context of things. Yeah, the idea Charlie would not be asking would be farfetched she thought. And it made her feel guilty for being out of touch.
She had been Maria’s shoulder these years. Fully apprised of the truth, and being able to be there for her friend just as Maria had been a friend to her while she cried over her decision to walk away from Max.
So, they had something in common. Except Maria had another tie to the past. A baby. Charlie.
Something she wanted today, and she was determined to do it without Max.
But then Max had been good at not taking no for an answer. But she could not help but wonder if would still offer if he knew that Micah and Charlie were likely special. Something she had to be talking about to her best friend since it impacted Charlie as well as Micah.
“Yeah,” Max nodded. “I would have advised her to wait, but she did not ask for my opinion. Just like she failed to do it, on aa whole host of other matters” he said still miffed. Sighing, he knew that shot was not warranted. It was a cheap shot, but he was tired, and his brain was not cooperating.
“Max…” Liz said with a wearily type of voice.
“Look it I know,” Max sighed “You do not have to say it because I did not mean it even though I said it,” Max muttered. “It is just taking Charlie there gave him a boat load of worries, that the child did not need and now he does know…”
Liz only nodded.
“The last thing we need is for the kids to complicate things,” Max sighed as he though of his little girl sleeping away her worries, as the last thing he ever wanted for his daughter to be hurt in his drama.
“They will complicate it even if we do not want it too,” Liz sighed. “You indicated that Charlie thinks he saw Michael the other night?”
“Yes,” Max nodded. “He was insistent, and swears it was not part of a dream that became too real.”
Liz nodded.
“The Maria and Charlie did zone out while they are there and claim to see him there when we at the facility” Max muttered.
“What on earth?” Liz wondered. “What are you talking about?”
“Something like that, or maybe not of this earth” Max muttered. “I seriously thought Maria had cracked up there for a minute. She had zoned out completely. It was like she in some trance. She came out it though, but Charlie had apparently been in the same experience, and just when they were going to leave. Everything changed.”
“Michael woke up?” Liz asked.
“No,” Max shook his head. “It would be easier to say it if he did. But no, all he did was start the process. Serena has no idea if it a spasm because of the prolonged coma. And not real. But it could be the real thing. He could be signaling that he might be waking up…”
“Oh Max,” Liz sighed. “That is great news…”
“What if he does not,” Max asked. “The not knowing is killing me?”
“As it would anyone,” Liz sighed as she took Max’s hand in his, and knew she was making things complicated. When as Max has said. Has anything not be that for us she thought. “You have a chance here at a miracle.”
“I know, but what if that miracle is only a partial or it all a figment of our imagination?” Max asked as he though of the brother he had lost five years before. “I cannot do that to myself, and what about Micah?” he wondered. “I have been doing this to myself for five years, but she was a baby at the time. She is growing up. She is now her own person.”
“All you do is to worry about yourself,” Liz asked. “As much as you want to think about what it means to other parts of your life. As you said he has not woken up. It might happen, but it might now. So, concentrate on what you can control. That might be coming back,” she advised. “Everything else will sort itself out.”
“And what if it was indeed Maria and Charlie who brought him out of whatever state of unconsciousness, he has been in all this time?” Max asked.
“What about Micah?” he worried. “She’s been here with me this whole time. And we could not pull him out of whatever state he was in?”
“You will have to deal with it, if that is the truth of the matter” Liz sighed. “But Micah is yours Max. Nothing will ever change that. Even if Michael were to ever come back to full strength. It is not going to be tomorrow. He will need time to adjust, but if he does. It will not change things because Micah loves you, and only you.”
“I do not want her hurt” Max sighed. “All this time I have made my life mission for her not to be hurt?”
“And Micah knows that” Liz said with a smile. “As a result. You are her hero, and she does not want you to be hurt. Only tonight she was asking me about my intentions about you?” she muttered. Among things?
“She was?” Max asked softly, as he faced his miracle in that he had Liz facing him.
After all this time and yet he could hardly comprehend the idea his five-year-old could be openly questioning someone he loved about her intentions regarding him. “That does not sound like my daughter?”
“Then you do not know your daughter,” Liz said with a smile. “She’s smart. She is you to her core. She might not have your genetics. But she definitely has been influenced by you, and your family. I see a lot of Isabel in her too,” she smiled of the girl’s determination to protect her father. “And as a result. She clearly loves you, and she was basically warning me not to hurt you” she said with a laugh, and Max’s eyes went wild. “I know, she said those words, so it happened. So, I think your daughter will be yours whether Michael comes back or not…”
“She’s wrong. You would never hurt me,” Max said as he looked into the eyes of the woman he loved. Of course, realistically he knew he was taking a chance here because yes, there was possibility that his heart could break in all this. And most likely would before this was over. But he was stronger than he was back in those early days in high school. After all love is not without its risk, he thought as he took her hands in his. And he was make the biggest risk there was, next to becoming a father to a child who was not his biologically.
“Max…” Liz murmured with the softest of voices.
“I know, I know, you are going to say your favorite words to me, that you are leaving” Max said as his mind was fully off the potential miracle in Michael, and now on this chance that could continue this miracle he had gotten when she came back into his life. “You like to remind me of that fact, so it’s not lost on me that you will be leaving. Therefore, I do not need the reminder.”
“I am…” Liz tried, but he stopped her with a finger to her lips. Which ended up making her flutter all the more.
“You make me sane Liz,” Max sighed. “I know realistically this cannot work because as you have said multiple times, you are leaving, and your future is not Roswell. But having you in my life. Today, this past weekend. Knowing you were there for Micah today. Liz, you should be an example that she can look up too. Knowing that you can reach for your limits. Reach for your dreams. So, I know what it means to say this, but I do not know if I could have made it without you?” he asked as he leaned in, and they exchanged a simple kiss.
A kiss that soon caught on like wildfire.
And it was endless, but Liz stopped herself as she pulled away. “Max, I think I better go. Micah is home, and she probably is not used to you have someone here, right?”
“Right,” Max sighed because that has not been his life until now “But I want you to stay…”
“I want to stay,” Liz said and meant the words. “But that is the last thing we need right now,” she said as they leaned for a kiss, and she dragged herself out of it a moment later before they had the chance to get carried away. Even though she wanted to get carried away. “I have to go. So, it’s a good night Max…” she murmured with a smile. “It has been a memorable day.”
It sure has he told himself. “Good night Liz…” Max said with a softly voice as Liz turned and walked to the door. As he followed her to the door. “Will you still be tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Liz said. “But I do not know about after tomorrow Max…”
“Then I have another chance to convince you…” Max asked softly.
“Concentrate on your daughter,” Liz advised. “Something tells me she needs you more than I do?”
“I can do both at the same time,” Max asked softly as he waited and heard the door slam shut next door. Which told him that she was inside, and safe and sound. “Good night Liz,” he whispered as he looked around his home.
And found it was looking emptier without the woman he loved in it.
Sighing, he checked his daughter’s bedroom once more and found a small bundle fast asleep in her bed. She walked into the room, and leaned down and kissed her daughter’s head, and wished the world would be easier for her, and pulled up the blanket a little more so the girl could be warm, and safe. Smiling, he turned and exited the room and went into his and turned in a short time later.
Dreaming of his daughter. And also dreaming of Liz the whole time and dreaming of what they could be having together.
While Liz slept in the bed next door, tossing, and turning and wondering what she would encounter before she succeeded in leaving this town behind.
And if she could leave it.
She did not know.