The sound brought Max back to Liz’s side immediately. He looked at Nancy, waiting for her to hand Liz over to him. It was a symbolic moment and they both knew it. Nancy hesitated, still holding her little girl in her arms, her gaze locked on Max who was standing next to them silently. Her mind was made up for her when Liz whispered: "Max." Looking up at him, she slowly allowed him to take her daughter, now a young woman, from her arms. And she finally conceded, Liz wasn’t hers anymore, she now belonged to Max…

Max held Liz high against his chest, walking away from everyone so he could calm her down in private. "Shhh, love. I’m here. You’re safe." He talked in soothing tones that gradually lessened her distress. He wished that this was all over so he could take her back to the camp and just hold her for hours until this whole nightmare faded for the both of them.

Liz’s eyes fluttered open, fastening on Max immediately. "Max, could you kiss me? I need… need to feel you…"

Still holding her against him, he bent his head and softly covered her mouth with his. It was a slow, gentle and beautiful kiss. A reaffirmation of their love and a promise of the future to come. Their lips clung together, it felt so familiar and yet so new. Max kept the kiss feather-light, not wanting to hurt her still bruised face and neck. He continued to caress her lips until he heard her sigh against him. Pulling away, he saw that she had once again fallen asleep. He pressed a kiss on the soft skin of her cheek and her forehead and again thanked whatever providence had brought him to this place in his life.

Taking Liz back to Nancy, he went to see Eric again. They needed to finish this so he could start making plans for the rest of his life. The rest of his NORMAL life with Liz. And they needed to wait for Jeff Parker and his parents to arrive, since Jeff probably wanted to see his daughter.

Michael was standing outside the room when Max came out. He looked uncomfortable. "We, ah… We took care of all the bodies, but I thought…" Michael was uncharacteristically hesitant. "I thought maybe you’d want to see…Tim." He looked at Max worriedly. "If you don’t, I’ll--."

"No. I want to see him." Max didn’t know why he wanted to see the guy that did all that to Liz. Maybe a perverse wish to ensure that he really would never be able to bother them again. Maybe he just wanted to see the first being that he ever… killed. He felt nausea rise up in his throat. I killed someone… But then he saw the guy. And he remembered what Liz had looked like when he found her. How intense the pain had been that she had had to live through. His anger at Tim returned full force. "She just loved me. That’s all she did," he whispered at the dead man. "Why didn’t you just come after me?"

"Maxwell…"

Max waved his hand to silence Michael. "We must never allow something like this to happen in our people, Michael. Promise me that we will never use innocent people to reach our goals."

Michael’s answer was quiet. "You know we never will. You would never allow it, and I would never do it."

Max nodded, his eyes still on Tim.

"What exactly happened to him?" Michael was curious, since the guy was already dead by the time they had stormed the house.

"I killed him." Max sounded tired.

"What are you talking about? You were nowhere near--."

"Through Liz. I killed him through Liz. I WANTED to kill him for what he was doing to her and we were connected… our minds. I felt so much hatred and anger I thought I was going to explode." Turning tortured eyes to Michael, he said: "He was literally frying her inside, Michael. I… I just… I wanted him dead. So much." Looking away again, he continued in a dead voice: "The next moment there was this bright light in my head and Liz… Liz said it was like an electrical charge had gone through her body. Killing him." Max rubbed the back of his neck. "I can’t believe I did that to her. She saw this man die and she thought… she thought she did it."

Michael was completely stunned by this story, but he kept his feelings to himself when he saw how upset Max was. "He was trying to kill HER, Max. He probably would have if you hadn’t stopped him."

"Maybe… But is this what’s going to happen every time I get so angry?"

"You weren’t just angry, Max. You were completely overwrought. How many times in your life is that going to happen. These were rare circumstances. You thought Liz was dying. Hell, she probably WAS dying." He put his hand on Max’s shoulder. "You need to move past this. She needs you."

Max was quiet for a long time before he nodded his head. "Thank you, Michael. For everything."

When he left, Michael stared down at the body of Tim. His mind was still grappling with what the guy had been capable of, but maybe this whole mess had led to one good thing. No more looking over their shoulders in future, waiting for the evil aliens to attack. He bent down and picked the body up. Time to bury the past.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max and Eric faced each other across the dining room table. There wasn’t much to say. Neither of them wanted to continue the war they had been intended to continue. In the case of Max, he had no planet to go back to. His only home was here, on earth, with Liz.

"I’m not going back to my planet. I hope they will assume that I’ve done my duty and leave us both alone from now on." Eric sounded tired too. He had been living on the run for so long that it seemed quite amazing that he would never have to live like that again. His mind struggled to accept that he would be able to go live somewhere, with Sarah, permanently.

Max interrupted his thoughts. "I guarantee that my people will leave you alone."

Eric nodded. "I…" He wondered if he could say the same. After all, it had been his soldiers that created this whole crisis. "Those of my men still with me will do the same for you." He took a deep breath. And may no-one from my planet come here one day to try and finish us both off.

They both got up and walked towards each other, shaking hands to seal their deal.

Eric swallowed. "I’m sorry. About Liz. Sarah says she is a courageous lady."

A small smile slid over Max’s lips. "Yes. She is." I’m so proud of her.

"I wish you both well." Eric’s sincere statement surprised Max.

"You too. And Sarah."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was much later when Max finally woke Liz up so he could fix her bruises. He didn’t want her father to see her like this. She opened her eyes partway and stared into his eyes trustingly when he told her to, not really awake yet. Max smoothed his hands all over her body, not noticing that Nancy was looking on attentively.

Max shoved the anger and hurt away again that threatened to return as he saw all the damage that had been done to Liz. When he finished healing her, he continued touching her. Taking simple joy in being able to still have her with him.

Still not fully alert, Liz felt the heat starting to flow through her when Max caressed her tenderly, his hands finding all the places on her body that they knew so well by now. All the places that he loved to touch. He skimmed his fingers over her hair, her shoulders and her arms, lacing their fingers together fleetingly before continuing. He curled his hands around her hips and slid them down her thighs, before slowly shaping her calves.

Nancy watched as Liz threw her head back, arching into the hands caressing her and the thought that had lain at the edge of her consciousness for a while now became more insistent. The easy and familiar way in which Max was touching Liz coupled with the instinctive and ardent response from Liz screamed of one thing. Physical intimacy. For a wild moment, Nancy wanted to run over and rip her daughter away from Max, but even as the thought raced through her mind, she cast it aside. She cast it aside because she saw the tender way in which Max lifted Liz up to cradle her against him, pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead. After everything that she’s seen today, worrying about Liz’s sex life seemed so trivial…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone had nearly fallen asleep by the time the Evans’ and Jeff Parker arrived at the house. Eric and Sarah had left for their own place, while Nick and the rest of the guys had already gone back to the camp.

Jeff rushed over and grabbed his wife in his arms before pulling Liz from Max’s lap. Hugging his still sleeping daughter, he looked over her head to Max: "Thank you. For both of them."

Max merely nodded only to be engulfed in the embrace of his own parents. Diane smoothed his bangs from his forehead lovingly. "So it’s over now?"