Max: in a panic he bolts upright taking Liz with him: there he is, sitting on his bed with the love of his life, au natural, with his Mom at the door: he scans the room hoping for an idea to appear in front of him: he can't come up with anything: he is sure his heart has stopped beating because it is currently lodged in his throat, he can't talk: he has to answer and he can't: with a "deer caught in the headlights" look, he turns to Liz:

Liz: she is calmly taking in how sexy he looks right now: all sweaty with his hair all messed up: she's never seen his eyes that huge before: she is fascinated by the way his muscles ripple as his body twists while he looks around the room: subconsciously her hand begins to delicately run along her neckline as she appreciates her view:

Max: forcing himself to take some slow deep breaths he manages to calm down, but only a little: as he continues to gaze at Liz, he is mystified by how calm she remains: he becomes intrigued by what her hand is doing, he needs to know were else it might go: as he watches her hand begin to slowly explore, he is surprised by the sudden response that it creates:

Mom: her concern increasing… "Max, Max are you OK? Honey, can you hear me? Did you get hurt tonight? Are you able to open the door?"

Max: his Mom's voice brings his head back to reality, but his body has a mind of its own: never taking his eyes off of Liz, he takes a deep breath, says a silent prayer, and tries… "Mom, I…uh…I'm fine… maybe a little sore that's all…I…uh…really don't want to get up right now…but I'm fine…I swear."

Mom: she is really starting to worry and is not liking the way he sounds… "Honey, can you try, please? You sound like you're in pain. If it is that bad, we better to take you to the emergency room. Honey, do you need me to get your Dad to help you?"

Liz: her fascination with his body's responses increases as she imagines all her secret places that she would like him to find: her hand responds to her mental pictures: finally bringing her gaze back to eye level, she notices his expression: she doesn't know why but the look of sheer terror on his face is just so darn cute and funny: she just can't help it: she starts to giggle:

Max: he's dumbstruck: he can't believe it, Liz is giggling: bringing his hand against her mouth he tries to quiet her with little effect: his eyes plead with her to stop: she finally nods yes and puts her hands over his: he knows there is no way Mom is going to go away until she sees for herself that he is OK: he just has a couple of problems to take of first: trying to buy a little time… "No…uh…just give me a few moments to get to the door, OK?"

Mom: this is not sounding good at all: trying to remain calm… "OK, honey. But I think I should go get your Dad. I'll be right back, don't worry."

Max: that isn't exactly what he wanted to hear: there is only one thing to do, hide: moving as quickly as possible he grabs the raincoat, nightie, and Liz and heads for the closet: quietly begging her to please behave, he closes the closet door: no time to find his boxers, he grabs a clean pair out of the drawer and slips them on which given his other problem is bit difficult: he had hoped in all his panic it would have gone away by now, but no such luck: quickly opening the closet door, he grabs his robe: spying the fact that Liz has only put on her nightie does not help: he hears his parents right outside: takes a deep breath: silently begs for a miracle and opens the door:

Dad: as the door opens he takes in the sight of his son: face flushed, sweaty, breathing heavy: as Max backs up a little allowing the door to open, he notices that his son does move like he is in some discomfort: he thought Diane was being her overprotective self when she woke him saying that something is wrong with Max, that he might be hurt, but now he is not so sure: he had seemed perfectly alright earlier: now he almost looks scared: he watches as Diane is now on full Mom Alert:

Mom: rushing into the room: one look at her son and she knows something is wrong: his face is red and he is so sweaty, she checks his forehead for a fever: he is a little warm: his movements are rather stiff and awkward: she wants to take him in her arms and hold him like when he was little, but he backs away when she tries to get closer: a little upset by this… "Honey, where does it hurt?"

Max: he wants to run: it takes everything he has to stop himself, to stay in control: he can't let Mom get too close or she might realize what his problem really is: as he stiffly backs away from her, he sees her hurt look: he'll have to make it up to her later, right now he just wants her to go away: trying to sound convincing… "Mom, I'm just a little sore and stiff. Maybe a couple of pulled muscles, that's all. Since I'm up I thought I would take a shower… you know… try and loosen them up."

Dad: he walks around the room trying to figure out what's going on, why is Max so nervous: for a moment he thinks {maybe Max took something, but he isn't that dumb, is he? He has been having some problems since last year, but still?} : concerned: he takes a closer look at his son's room: {water on floor, bed's a mess, why are there boxers on the floor? what's THAT in the trash? }: he can't believe what he is seeing: suddenly it all makes sense: he doesn't wonder who she is, there's only been one girl that Max keeps getting "caught" with: {busted again Max.} he almost wants to laugh: deciding to take a little pity on the boy… "Diane, I think Max is going to be fine. Let's wait and see how he feels in the morning." Trying real hard not to smile… "Max, I think you probably could use a shower, you look awfully hot, maybe a cold one, might cool you down, make you feel better. Try and get some sleep, you must be tired from this evening's exertion." Switching back into concerned parent mode… "You and I are going to have a very long chat tomorrow about exactly what happened earlier tonight. Oh, keep the door unlocked. I'm sure your Mom is going to be popping in to check on you later. No use worrying her some more now, is there? Good night son."

Diane: as she is being quickly hustled out the door… "Philip, are you sure? I'm mean he just doesn't look right and you should have heard him earlier. I'm certain he was in pain."

Philip: biting his lip… "Yah, I'm pretty sure, he just needs to be left alone for a little while to…ah… get some rest. I'm sure he'll be fine come morning." {Max, son you are going to owe me for this. I think tomorrow is going to be a pretty interesting day}

Mom: she's been concerned about him for months now, ever since the kitchen fire she has watched helplessly as their son has quietly turned away from them, from her. He seems to have a whole other life and all has not gone well in it: tonight is just another example: she wants to help but he won't let her in: she makes her decision {tomorrow, he and I are going to sit down and have a long talk. One way or another, he is going to tell me what is going on in his life. Where does Liz Parker fit into it? He's obviously very taken with her. She's such a sweet girl, I should have her and her folks over for Sunday Dinner tomorrow, get to know them a little better. I'll call Nancy first thing in the morning.}