Liz awakens early, but instead of going outside to meditate, she snuggles up close to Max, who is still sleeping peacefully. She could look at him for hours. He was so beautiful. She wonders why it is that she just has to touch him all the time . . . like she can't help herself. She pushes the hair back off his face, and thinks about the person he is inside . . . his heart, the way he thinks about life in general and her in particular. She knows with absolute certainty that she will never have to face anything alone again. He won't let her. It was going to be strange to be without him today. She wants to stay awake so she can continue on just looking at him while he sleeps, but she's just so very tired . . .

2 HOURS LATER -

Max wakes up and his first concious thought is that he's never going to survive until tonight when he can be with Liz again. His body doesn't care that he has to get to work today. Liz didn't know it yet, but he was never going to let her be very far away from him again. He gets up and gets dressed and makes his way to the kitchen. He eats quickly and then goes to wake Liz. He takes a glass of juice and a bagel into the living room for her. She must be exhausted to be sleeping this late. He hated to wake her up, but she had said it was important for her to go to the reservation today. He leans over her and kisses her lightly, watching her eyes open slowly. She puts her arms around his neck and pulls him down and deepens the kiss. Max smiles against her mouth, and she pulls back to see what's so funny.

Liz: "What?" (impatient)

Max: "A guy could get spoiled rotten with a greeting like that every morning."

Liz: (smiling, too) "Oh . . . well, you started it." (teasing)

Max: (sitting up) "Guilty. I brought you breakfast." (looking away from her to the food on the table)

Liz: (sitting up) "Talk about getting spoiled . . . (looking back at him) Thank you.

Max just stares at her openly for a moment. Liz tries to push her hair into place and is feeling really self-concious. Seeing her waking up like this in the morning is having a pronounced affect on Max's anatomy.

Liz: "Do I look that bad?" (concerned)

Max: (amazed that she could be so far off course) "Bad?" (gives himself a mental shake) "Liz, I don't even think it's possible."

Liz: "What?"

Max: "For you to look bad." "You are so beautiful."

Liz: (smiles at him) "I had a similar thought about you earlier this morning when I was watching you sleeping."

Max: (embarassed) "You were watching me sleeping?"

Liz: "Only for a little while. I was too sleepy to stay awake." (enjoying teasing him)

Max: "I'll bet. Must've been pretty boring."

Liz: (eyes dropping to his mouth, her expression changes to serious and her voice softens) "Not much compares with sunrise, but I missed it this morning . . . the view was better in here."

Max: (feeling really short on control) "I think you should know that I've already forced myself out of this bed once this morning. Twice would be way out of the question."

Liz: (taking in the tension in his body and taking a deep breath herself) "O.k. I'll make an effort."

Max: (reaching for control and changing the subject quickly) "How about breakfast?"

Liz: (reaching behind her for the bagel) "Sounds good."

Max: "So . . . tonight?"

Liz: "Yeah . . . I need to see my folks for a while tonight. I need to tell them that I'm going back to the reservation. I'm not really sure how they are going to take it, Max. I just know it's what I need to do. I can't go back to living with them now.

Max: "Are you sure?"

Liz: (afraid of his reaction) "Yes . . . I'm sorry . . ."

Max: "It's o.k. We'll work it out."

Liz: (relieved) "I'm going to miss you today."

Max: "Me, too. Do you want to go back to the reservation tonight?"

Liz: "I think it would probably be for the best. Maria needs a chance to start making a normal life for herself." "I'll probably start coming home every weekend to see her and make sure she's doing o.k. . . "

Max: "I'll drive you back out tonight after you talk to them."

Liz: "Thank you, Max . . . for everything."

Max: (shrugging) "It's not everyday I get compared to a sunrise."

Liz: (smiling at him) "I can do even better than that."

Max: (looking worried) "Don't. Atleast not if you want to go anywhere today."

Liz just grins at him and they get ready and leave together.

Max passes the day pretty much without incident. Well, unless you count the 150 times he thought about Liz today and wondered what she was doing.

Maria spends her first day on her own since her Mom's death, and to her surprise, she thinks that she just might survive. Michael's proposal was like a secret little bubble of joy that she stepped inside of and wrapped around herself whenever she thought she couldn't go on. Everyone had to return to normal today and it felt odd to all of them. As much as Liz had wanted to get back to reality, she couldn't deny the loneliness she had felt as she had left Max at the UFO Center that morning. He had said that they would work it out, but she couldn't help wondering how they were going to do that exactly. Nothing short of having him with her every night was going to do, and that was just impossible. His parents would have a fit. She missed him terribly.

LATER THAT NIGHT -

Liz just finished breaking the news to her parents that she's going back to the reservation to live, but that she'd like to come home on the weekends to visit and see Maria and Max. Her parents were reluctant to let her go at first, but in the end, Liz convinced them that it was really not much different than if she went off to college. The fight was going pretty badly until Liz revealed all the progress she had made towards graduation in the past six months. Her parents were so pleased with her premature graduation date that they finally gave in. Her Mom and Dad had both been pretty upset when Max came to pick her up, but they seemed to understand her need to go. Her parents put on brave faces for her sake and took solace in the fact that their daughter was a remarkable young woman, and they had her back in their lives again if not in their home.

Max and Liz made the trip out in almost total silence, but nothing like that first night when they had gone to the hospital together. This silence was completely peaceful, and not the least bit uncomfortable. Liz takes her key from around her neck and unlocks her door. She turns to Max.

Liz: "Would you like to come in?" (feeling a little unsure)

Max: "You have to ask?" (one eyebrow raised)

Liz: (chuckling a little) "I guess not." They go inside and Liz turns on a lamp and goes to the kitchen to get something to drink. She thinks to herself that it's sort of strange having this large, impressive man in her small house, and trying to act like nothing is out of the ordinary. She hands him a glass.

Max: "Thanks."

Liz: (having no idea what to do now that they are here) "You're welcome."

Max takes a drink and sets his glass down and then he takes Liz's glass and sets it down, too.

Max: "Come here." (reaching for her hand)

Liz: (watching him intently, puts her hand in his) "Max . . . " He pulls her back into the bedroom and looks down into her pretty face.

Max: "I love you, Liz."

Liz: "I love you, too." (She reaches out to unfasten the buttons on his shirt and then pushes it off his shoulders letting it fall to the floor.)

Max reaches for the hem of her sweater and pulls it off over her head. Without hesitating he unfastens her bra and lets it drop to the floor with the rest of their discarded clothing. He can't believe how beautifully made she is. Liz is beginning to squirm under this close inspection, and her skin prickles all the way up to her hairline. Max notices her discomfort and decides it's time. He leads her over in front of her mirror and turns her around to face it. He's standing just behind her and pulls her arms up around his neck. Liz is just about to voice a protest, but he catches her eyes in the mirror, and the words die on her lips at the look in his eyes. She can feel the hardness of his body against her, and if that wasn't enough, . . . that look . . . He senses that she's not going to fight this and drops his mouth to her neck running his lips down in a line from just under her ear out to the top of her shoulder. Liz can feel her whole body changing in response. Max is caressing the backs of her arms where they are wrapped around his neck. Liz flexes her fingers in his hair in pure reaction, pressing his mouth down harder on her skin. Her head tips back and her eyes close as Max moves his hands down either side of her ribs. Liz's knees feel weak and she's thinking that she just might fall.

Max: "Just hold on to me . . . and open your eyes." She does and is stunned to see herself in the mirror. Was that her body?

It looked very different from what she thought of herself on a daily basis. In a moment she realizes that she's seeing herself the way that Max sees her. Her breasts were so tight and achy. She needed him to touch her. As if he read her mind, he brought his hands up under her breasts and rubbed his thumbs across her nipples. Liz didn't know how much more of this she could stand. Her body was on fire everywhere he touched her and several places besides. Max, sensing her frustration, turns her around to face him.

Max: "You are so beautiful, Liz." "Do you know that now?"

Liz: (swallowing hard around the lump in her throat) "Yes." (He couldn't have possibly made her feel more loved.)

Max: "Good." (dropping to his knees in front of her and dragging his lips down her body from her collarbone to her tummy.) He brought her closer to him with his hands on her behind and pressed his mouth against her. By sheer force of will, Liz remained on her feet, but it was a near thing. He pulled her into his mouth using his teeth and his tongue ran all around that incredibly sensitive bundle of nerves. Liz had a grip on his hair that was almost painful. He let her go long enough to scoop her up and carry her to the bed. He came down on top of her heavily and kissed her soundly. Liz felt like she might explode any second. She could taste herself in this kiss, and she wanted him with a blinding intensity.

Liz: "Max . . . please, now."

Max's head was spinning. He could feel how much she wanted him and the demands her body was making. His own body was clamoring for release. He pushed her legs apart with his knees and she reached for him bringing him to the entrance of her body. Liz opened her eyes without him even asking her to. She was as anxious to see their lovemaking on his face as he was to see it on hers. And his eyes . . . He pushed inside of her and she arched up to meet him. She was so hot and so very small. Max felt the tiny muscles inside her body straining to accept him. Liz wondered at this feeling of having him inside of her. It was the closest thing to pain without actually being painful. She felt stretched to the absolute limit. Her body quickly adjusted to his presence as he started moving inside her. As she stared into his eyes she felt like she was falling. The rhythm of their bodies did nothing to stop Liz's fall. She might've been afraid if it had not been for the fact that this was Max and he was right here with her. She trusted him so completely. He would never let anything bad happen to her. She felt her body tightening and on the edge of shattering into a million tiny pieces, when suddenly she was no longer falling. As the climax tore through her body on one plane, she was floating on another. She was still staring into his eyes as he moved over her and felt her body contracting all around him. The spasms brought Max to the end of his control, but he didn't look away from her. Something indescribable was happening to them. He couldn't explain it, but he just knew. He could feel it deep inside his heart and soul. He could feel part of her being joined with part of him. He was with her in that other place and somehow, some strange way, they both knew that they had just made a baby together.

Max could feel the tremors in Liz's body before he saw the first tears form in her eyes. They were both so shocked that neither could speak. Max could feel Liz's panic and thought for a moment that she was afraid or repulsed at the idea of being pregnant. He quickly got control of his own emotions and then it was easy to see that she wasn't repulsed. She was afraid . . . afraid that he was going to be angry with her . . . afraid that she had taken something away from him by making him a father.

Max: "Liz, baby . . . shhh, don't cry." (kissing her eyes, her nose, her cheeks . . . )

Liz: (gulping in air and trying to get control) "Max, I'm so sorry . . . I don't know why the pills didn't work . . . they should have worked . . . (completely distraught)

Max: "It's o.k. . . . I'm not mad . . . Liz, please don't cry."

Liz: "It's all my fault . . . "

Max: (can't help smiling a little at this) "I don't really think there is anyway you're going to get to take credit for this all by yourself."

Liz: (finally understanding that Max really isn't angry) "I thought you would be furious."

Max: "I didn't even know this was possible. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to have a family . . . "

Liz: (softly) "Max, what are we going to do?" (panic creeping back into her voice)

Max: (putting his hands on either side of her face) "We are going to have a baby and be a family . . . if that's what you want . . ."

Liz: (settling down once more) "I can't think of anything I've ever wanted more." (rubbing her hands across his shoulders and feeling very possessive) "It's incredible to think . . .

Max: "What?"

Liz: "That you will always be mine . . . and a baby, too."

Max: "I'm glad you're not upset about being pregnant." (truly relieved)

Liz: "No. I'm not . . . not at all. I am curious, though. I wonder if it will be just like a normal pregnancy or if it will be different." (apprehensive)

Max: "I have no idea, Liz. I wish I had some answers for you, but I don't. I'm sorry."

Liz: "I guess we should wait a while before we tell our parents, in case, the timing is off."

Max: "Yeah . . . I think we should wait probably. I'll talk to Michael and Isabel about it, though, and I expect you won't be able to keep it from Maria." (teasing)

Liz: (pretending to be hurt) "That was unkind."

Max: "But, so true." (feeling happier than he ever had in his life)

Liz: (serious again) "In case I forget to tell you at some point, thank you."

Max: (He didn't even have to ask her for what, because he already knew what she was thinking) "Liz, I know you don't understand it, but I really am happier right now than I ever thought I could be. I'm a little worried about the mechanics of the situation, but I'm sure that this is right. It's not a mistake. You and I . . . we're just meant to be together. I don't know why or how, and I really don't care anymore. I know how I feel and nothing will ever change it. I love you. I have always loved you."

Liz: "I love you, too." (thinking that she's never known this kind of joy before and didn't even know it existed)

Max: "I better call my folks and tell them I'm not coming home tonight."

Liz: "You're not?"

Max: "I cannot even imagine being able to make myself leave you alone tonight. I don't know how yet, but you are not staying out here alone anymore. (thinking for a moment and then studying her face intently) Would you marry me, Liz?"

Liz: "Can we do that? Aren't we too young?"

Max: "I don't know. We'll probably have to elope. Does that make you sad?"

Liz: "No . . . it doesn't. It sounds . . . wonderful and exciting."

Max: (still searching her face) "You didn't answer the question."

Liz: (smiling) "Of course, I'll marry you, Max." "There was never any question in my mind."

Max: (reflective) "I guess I just wanted to hear you say it."

Liz: "Oh . . . well, anytime. What are you going to tell your parents about staying here tonight?"

Max: "The truth."

Liz: (startled) "What?!?!"

Max: (laughing) "I'm going to tell them that I'm too tired to drive safely and that I'm going to sleep on your couch."

Liz: "That's not the truth!" (laughing, too.)