Max glances over at Liz to find tears silently coursing down her cheeks. He had been lost in thought for the last little bit. He was thinking about the coming meeting with their parents, and wondering how they were going to handle the news about the baby. He assumes that she's worrying about it, too.

Max: (gently) "It'll be o.k., Liz. Don't worry. We're not the first teenagers to get pregnant."

Liz: (reaching up to swipe away a few of the tears) "It's not that."

Max: (suddenly concerned) "What's wrong?"

Liz: (looking at him with an expression close to fear) "Don't ever leave me, Max."

Max: (deciding that this is more serious than he thought, pulls off the highway) "Why in the world would you say a thing like that?"

Liz: "What if you find a way to go back to your home someday?"

Max: "What if I did?"

Liz: "Would you leave us?"

Max: (thinking that this was going to be an extremely long nine months, but relieved all the same) "I don't know what's going on in that beautiful head of yours, but you can count on one thing. I will not ever leave you. If I did find a way to go home, then I would just take you with me. You can't seriously think I would leave you behind." (searching her face)

Liz: (smiling a little) "I'm sorry . . . I just felt so afraid for a second. I don't know how I would survive without you now . . . and I just have a feeling that you are going to find something . . . "

Max: "Is this vision-related or just hormonal?"

Liz: (looking a little hurt) "Well . . . it wasn't a vision, but I just feel like something's coming that we're not expecting . . ."

Max: (regretting his hasty remark) "It must be really weird to be you right now."

Liz: "Why?"

Max: "Well, it would have been enough just to be this young and pregnant, but throw into that all the unknowns and . . . I'm just surprised that you're handling it as well as you are."

Liz: "Thank you."

Max: "For what?"

Liz: "Trying so hard to understand."

Max: "I'm sorry I've been so distracted. Next time you feel like this, just tell me. I don't have answers for everything, but I'll listen."

Liz: "You're really worried about our parents, aren't you?"

Max: "Somewhat . . . my Dad is a lawyer after all . . . "

Liz: "Do you think he'll try to dissolve the marriage?"

Max: "I think that would be his first thought, but the baby will make all the difference."

Liz: "I'm sorry for everything, Max. Your life was fine before . . ."

Max: "No, it wasn't, because you weren't in it." "It wasn't ever going to be fine without you." "It might be sooner than we'd have liked, but I wouldn't change any of it." "We better go, if you're o.k. now."

Liz: (smiling) "Yeah . . . I'm fine . . . I love you to distraction, Max Evans."

Max (kissing her lightly): "I love you, too, Mrs. Evans."

Roswell - Crashdown

Max and Liz walk into the Crashdown hand in hand to face their parents. The first thing Liz sees is her Mom and Dad rushing towards her. They pull her into an embrace and for a minute Liz thinks this might not be the nightmare that they were anticipating. However, her Mom pulls back to look at her face and bursts into tears. Liz glances at her Dad, and knows that she will never be able to forget the look on his face or escape the fact that she was the reason it was there. Max's parents are sitting quietly together and waiting for some sort of explanation from their son. Max wonders if it's his imagination or if they really did look older than the last time he saw them. He tries to put himself in their shoes, and quickly abandons the effort, because, honestly, he hopes he'll never have to deal with something like this as a parent. They all sit down together, with Max and Liz still holding hands.

Philip Evans: "Max, I hope there is some explanation for all of this, although I can't imagine what that could be at this point."

Mr. Parker: "I'm sure you kids had a reason for running off the way you did, but we're having a very hard time understanding this."

Philip Evans: "In fact, I don't even understand how it was possible for you to even get married. You're both minors. It can't possibly be legal."

Max: "Dad, it's definitely legal. We are married."

Philip: "We didn't raise you to skirt around the law this way, Max. How could it possibly be legal, unless you lied about your ages?"

Max: "Well, that's pretty much exactly what we did."

Philip (to the other three parents): "If that's true, then there's a possibility of dissolving this whole thing."

Max: (emphatically) "No. We're not dissolving anything."

Philip: "You don't have a choice, son. You are a minor and we will do whatever we think is best for you."

Max: "Dad, I know you are trying to help, but if you'll just listen . . . "

Liz: (quietly) "I'm pregnant."

The four stunned parents sit speechless for a few moments. Liz can't even look at her parents. She's afraid of what she'll see. She just keeps looking at Max's hand in hers, and telling herself that they'll get through this . . . somehow.

Mrs. Parker: "Liz . . . baby, you didn't have to get married . . . we would have taken care of you . . . "

Liz: "Mom, I know you don't understand this right now, but marrying Max wasn't a "have to" situation. It was a dream come true."

Mrs. Parker: "You say that now, but you're so young. You can't possibly know how hard your life is going to be . . ."

Mr. Parker: "Lizzie, what about college and all your dreams?"

Liz: "I have different dreams now, Dad." "I'm not saying I won't go to college, but it will have to wait a little while."

Mr. Evans: "What about you, Max?" "Are you still planning on finishing your education?"

Diane Evans: (finally recovering from the shock enough to speak) "I can't believe this . . ."

Max: "Yes, I'm going to finish. I've already made arrangements to finish my high school credits by correspondence, and as soon as possible, I'll be starting college."

Diane Evans: (distraught) "How will you support yourselves . . . where will you live?"

Max: "I'm going to work full time for Ray, and we'll be living out at the reservation."

Philip Evans: "Son, I don't know what to say . . . "

Max: "I'm sorry, Dad . . . Mom . . . we didn't plan this, but, Liz is the only girl I have ever or will ever love. I've known it since the first time I saw her. I know it's really soon, but we'll make it work."

Philip Evans: (sighs) "Well, Max, we'll do whatever we can to help you, of course . . . "

Mr. Parker: (beginning to accept that there's nothing to be done) "Us, too, Lizzie, whatever you need, just ask."

Liz's eyes fill up with tears and spill over, as she gets up to fall into her Dad's waiting arms. Max's parents get up and walk over to him. Max's Dad puts his hand on his shoulder and his Mom brushes his hair back off his face and leans down and kisses him on the cheek. Max fights to control his emotions and is surprised to find that it's much harder in the face of all this support than it was before.

Max: (to his parents) "I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

Diane Evans: "We only want you to be happy, Max."

Philip Evans: "I'm proud of you for trying so hard to do the right thing in a difficult situation."

Mr. and Mrs. Parker finally let go of their beloved daughter, and she walks back over to Max, who grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze to let her know that he loves her. Liz looks at him adoringly, and not one of the adults misses this exchange. For better or worse, their kids were married and going to be parents, and they were in love with each other. Things could've been worse. Diane Evans pulls Liz into a warm embrace and says, "Welcome to the family, sweetie." Liz smiles at her, but can't control the tears that just won't stop falling. Her mother-in-law gives her a sympathetic look and hands her a tissue from the pack that she's been using. Mr. and Mrs. Parker approach Max and he stands up. Mr. Parker extends his hand to Max, and says "Take care of my baby girl." Max takes his hand in a firm handshake, and assures him that he will. Mrs. Parker gives Max a hug, and without saying a word lets him know that she's on their side.

Later That Night -

Max and Liz are beyond exhausted and fall into bed with only one thought in mind . . . sleep. Max has to work the next day, and he's so tired he wonders how he'll ever make it, but he's also very happy. He pulls Liz over close to him and puts one arm under her head and the other around her waist. They are asleep within moments of getting into bed.

************

Liz is running through the woods. She stops to rest even though she knows she can't afford to spare the time. The pain in her abdomen escalates until she falls on her knees. She has to keep moving. As soon as the pain passes, she pulls herself up and runs as fast as she can with one hand on her protruding tummy. The contractions are so close together now. She has to get to the cave. She needs River Dog . . . and Max. Where in the world was he? No time to think about that now, she keeps moving until she realizes that she's not alone out here. A wave of pure terror washes over her as she bolts for the safety of people she knows she can trust.

She stumbles and falls down hard on one knee. Without so much as a cursory glance behind her, she gets back on her feet and keeps running. Just then, another contraction comes, and she sinks to her knees again in agony. She could deal with the pain if she wasn't out here running around like a crazy person, but here she was.

Just as she's about to get back on her feet, her water breaks, and the pain intensifies. She can feel that she needs to keep moving, but she just can't go on . . .

*************************

Max wakes up to hear Liz whimpering in her sleep. He leans over her, and tries to wake her up. His first attempt is unsuccessful, and he's getting a little concerned about her now. She's clearly terrified, and why is she holding her stomach like that? Just when he's about to panic, her eyes fly open and she throws her arms around his neck. She's mumbling something about not being able to find him, in between gulps of air. What was this all about?

Max: "Shhh . . . it's o.k.. You just had a nightmare."

Liz: (calming somewhat) "Max . . . I was so scared. The baby . . . I couldn't find you."