"No, please, just stay here for a second. I'm so afraid that I'll let you go and none of this will be real." He immediately returned to her arms, his arms locking around her, pulling her into his lap as he moved onto her seat. His hands smoothed over her hair as he rocked back in forth comfortingly. She squirmed towards him, as though she couldn't get closing enough after being apart for so long.

"I've missed you so much, Max. I thought about you all the time, no matter how hard I tried not to. Even when I was with…Oh, Max!" she pulled away quickly, covering her face with her hands in a horrified gasp.

"It's OK, Liz. I know, I know that you were seeing him. I…I understand."

"You knew? How did you?" her gaze was openly curious as she waited for him to explain.

Max didn't know exactly how to explain himself without making things awkward, but he realized that she needed the truth from him. "I climbed up earlier tonight to talk to you and saw the two of you through your window."

Liz's face lost its color and her eyes widened as she asked, "What exactly did you see?"

"That doesn't matter, Liz. I'm honestly trying to forget the image. As long as he wasn't forcing you to do anything, then I have no right to comment." His eyes were downcast, staring down at his hands where they still rested against her waist.

"No, Max, let me explain."

"Liz," he looked up and she saw the sorrow in his eyes. "You don't owe me an explanation. I have no right to judge you, not considering some of the things I've done recently." Max noted her puzzled appearance and took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for his most difficult confession.

"I don't want to know." She said immediately after the words were out of his mouth. Her head returned to his shoulder and she snuggled into him.

"No, listen. You have to hear this." Taking in a gulp of air, he continued in a quiet, mournful voice. "There are things that I haven't told you about my behavior while we were apart. I meant it when I said I really wasn't myself. I did things that I'm not proud of, things I'll never forgive myself for…"

Liz leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against his, silencing him. "Not now? It's all still too recent and painful. I don't want to think about all the things that happened between us when we weren't together. All I want right now is to feel you in my arms."

"But, Liz, you really need to know…"

"And I will. You'll tell me everything, but just…not now. Right at this moment, I want to crawl into my nice, warm bed and sleep in your arms." She blushed a light pink as the words tumbled from her lips. "Every night we've been apart, I remember the last night we were together. Granted it wasn't the best circumstances with the whole being chased by the FBI aspect, but I've never been able to forget how it felt to fall asleep in your arms and wake up with you beside me. I kept thinking that it was better the second time than it had been the first. And, seeing that the first time we were on the desert floor and the second we were in an overturned bus, this time, when we're snuggled in my bed, will be the best yet." Her voice trailed off and she was suddenly very unsure of herself. Was she being too forward? If he had really seen Kyle in her room, did he know that Kyle had also been in her bed?

"I love you so much, Liz. I thought that you would never want me near you again, though I dreamed every night about holding you. Nothing in this world would make me happier than holding you all night, except maybe holding you every night." Kissing her briefly, he stood, scooping her in his arms as he did, and strode into her room.

Reaching the side of her bed, Max set Liz lightly on her feet. For a moment, all Max could do was simply stare at Liz, his hands grazing against the skin of her cheeks and neck, trying to reassure himself that she was really in his presence, allowing him to touch her once again. She leaned into his touch, turning her face so she could press a kiss into the palm of his hand. The simple gesture made his heart sing, and he leaned down to let his lips rest against hers in the most tender kiss either had experience. Max realized that he could be happy for the rest of his life just with this. Being able to stand pressed against Liz, his hands on her face, his lips pressed against hers, was all he needed in life to be happy.

Max soon felt Liz's hands slide up his back and onto his shoulders, slipping under the jacket he wore and easing it off. His hands left their position on her face so the jacket could fall from his arms. Liz took a step back, looking at him for a long moment before a secretive smile crossed her lips and she glanced at the bed. Moving so she stood beside it, she pulled the covers down a bit before glancing back up at him.

"Are you sleeping like that?" she asked playfully as she worked at undoing the knot on her robe. He hastily kicked his sneakers off as he watched her robe glided from her shoulders. She folded the discarded robe over her desk chair and slipped under the covers as he stood watching.

He debated his next move. Were he at home, he would sleep in his T-shirt and boxers, but he was unsure if that was advisable here with Liz. Would she think he was pressuring her for something more? Would she be shocked by his action? He decided to at least take off his belt, that way it wouldn't stab him while he slept. Hastily unlatching the buckle, he removed the leather and placed it on top of his shoes.

As he sat on the edge of the bed, his back facing Liz, he felt her hand settle on his shoulder. "Do you always sleep in your jeans?" he heard Liz ask, before he had a chance to get into bed fully.

"Not typically. I normally sleep in my boxers, but I didn't know if that would make you uncomfortable," Max replied honestly. He was still being tentative and cautious with Liz, afraid of doing anything that may screw up their reconciliation.

All the muscles in Max's body clenched as he felt Liz's hand trail down his shoulder, across his stomach, stopping on the closure of his jeans. "So what are you waiting for?" Her breath caressed his ear as she spoke and for a moment he almost reconsidered sleeping in only his boxers. Almost.

He stood and quickly shed his jeans before sliding into bed beside her. Her head was propped up by her hand, her elbow resting on the bed. A grin spread across her face as she stared down at him, the fingers of her free hand tracing his features in the moonlight.

"I'm afraid to go to sleep," she whispered as her lips pressed kisses along his face and neck.

"Why?" he whispered in response, returning her delicate kisses, his hands snaking up into her hair.

"I've dreamed about this so many times in the past, I'm afraid that when I wake up, this will have been a dream too."

He could tell by the moonlight, which streamed into her windows, that her eyes were filled with tears. Tugging her down so her chest rested against his, he wrapped her in a tight embrace. Her arms went around his shoulders as she buried her face in his neck while hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Max simply held her as she cried, releasing all the pain and misery of their separation. When she finally drew back far enough to look into his eyes, she noticed the tear tracks down his face and realized he had been crying too.

The kiss they shared then was full of love and repressed emotion. It was a sharing of souls, pure and simple, two halves once again joining to become whole. When they eventually withdrew from one another, it was in contentment; both overjoyed with where they were and whom they were with.

"Sleep, Liz," Max murmured into her hair. "I'll be here when you wake up and for every other day of your life as well." Kissing him one last time, Liz allowed her eyes to fall shut as she lay in Max's embrace, listening to his heart pounding beneath her ear, his steady breathing lulling her too sleep.