---------------------------

Tess had been to Maria's room and discovered that it, too, was unoccupied. The fury poured off of her in waves as she raced to Alex's house. They couldn't be more than fifteen minutes ahead of her. Damn him. Damn him. Damn him. How was he hiding from her? It was impossible. She'd been able to track him steadily for months. What had changed? Liz Parker. Until a day or two ago, she had no longer been a part of his life. At least, not in any physical sense. He still thought about her. She was well aware of just how much and how often Max still thought of Liz. She gritted her teeth in frustration at the very idea. However, he had left his mission, his family, his responsibilities to go in search of Liz, and that's exactly when she lost the ability to connect with him. She consoled herself with the knowledge that as long as Max loved Liz, she would always be his greatest weakness. A weakness she intended to exploit to the fullest at the earliest opportunity . . .

------------------------------

We belong to the light.
We belong to the thunder.
We belong to the sound of the words,
we've both fallen under . . .
Whatever we deny or embrace,
For worse or for better,
We belong, we belong, we belong
together . . .

A few hours later, weary to the point of exhaustion, the four fugitives made their way onto a train that would carry them away from Roswell, possibly never to return. They all settled down to rest for what was left of the night. It was freezing, and Max noticed how they were all struggling with the cold. He was so used to it, he never even noticed anymore. He glanced at Liz, and felt his heart beat steadily in his chest . . . alive . . . he felt alive for the first time in six months. She looked so small and helpless, but that was just an illusion, because the reality was that as long as he had her, he would always be stronger than he was without her. She was his strength. Some would say that was his greatest weakness, but he did not agree . . .

Maria and Alex huddled together on one end of the car and tried to stay warm and rest while they could. They knew without being told that they were going to need all the rest they could get to make this journey. Liz shivered and wrapped her arms around herself trying to get warm. Max reached out and slid her back against him, wrapping his arms around her. She sighed as their combined warmth chased away the chill. Relaxing against him, she let her head fall back and rest against his chest. Her eyes were closed, and Max was overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her. It had been an eternity . . .

She must've known what he was thinking, because her eyes flew open and stared straight into his. Her eyes dropped to his mouth, and her breath escaped in a small rush . . . Max bent his head, but then stopped abruptly as Liz's face changed radically. Her expression was hauntingly familiar. Regret. Pain. The sadness of loss so profound it was crippling.

Max: "What's wrong, Liz?"

Liz: (closing her eyes in an effort to stop the tears that still seeped out) "I can't do this, Max."

Max: (shocked) "What?" (thinking she wanted to go back home)

Liz: "I can't pretend like you belong to me . . . It hurts too much."

Max: "I do belong to you, Liz. We belong to each other."

Liz: (quietly) "That's not true, Max. You belong to Tess. You're . . . . you were married."

Max: (forcing himself to slow down and not blurt everything out in one sentence) "I'm not married, Liz. I've never been married."

Liz (eyes widening in surprise): "But . . . "

Max: "I know what you heard . . . what we all heard . . . as far as, Michael and Isabel and I can determine, it was a fabrication to help us propagate our race. Apparently, when they sent us here, they knew we wouldn't necessarily develop any natural affection for each other, so they created a history for us to discover along with the dreams so that we would be forced into relationships whether we wanted them or not."

Liz: (trying to comprehend what he was saying): "So your race would not die out . . . "

Max: "Exactly."

Liz (eyes darkening again in pain): "How long have you known this?"

Max: (sensing the direction of Liz's thoughts) "We figured it out almost as soon as we left. Michael and Isabel, were so repulsed by each other that they knew immediately that something was wrong. They already knew how much I was struggling with Tess, so we decided to investigate. We confronted her together, and she finally admitted that she'd known all along that it wasn't really true. None of it."

Liz: "Why didn't you come back and tell me Max?" "Were you ever going to tell me or just let me go on believing . . . (She couldn't finish as her throat closed around unshed tears.)

Max: (closing his eyes at the pain in hers and then opening them again) "Liz . . . I knew if I told you, I'd never be able to leave you in Roswell. I didn't want you to have to live this way . . . I wanted you to be safe . . . "

Liz: (seeing the desperation in him for her to understand) "I don't care how I have to live, Max, as long as it's with you."

Max: "I don't think you really understand . . . "

Liz: "I understand that I love you. That's all I need to understand."

Max: (searching her eyes) "We do belong together, Liz. . . . I love you, too."

They settle down and try to rest, feeling more at peace in the most ironic of circumstances than they had in the past six months.

-------------------------------

Tess sat back in the seat and concentrated one more time. Closing her eyes and clearing her mind, she exhaled all of her breath, and then slowly drew more in. All three of them had escaped her. Somehow, Max had known, and he had gotten them all before she could set her plan into motion. She had only needed one of them. Any one of them would've done. Her primary target had been Liz, because she would have caused Max the most suffering, but Maria or Alex either one, would have had the same impact. Now, they were all out of reach. She couldn't reach Max, but there was still one more possibility. Liz had no idea who she was or how she fit in to their world. If she could just get rid of her . . .

----------------------------------

Liz awoke with a start. She could feel Max's arm lying heavily around her, and his breathing was deep and even. He was asleep. What had awakened her? Without moving her head, she looked around the inside of the car. Maria and Alex were asleep a short distance away. She could sense something wrong. No . . . not something . . . someone. A presence. That prickling sensation was creeping across her skin. She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. As her eyes found nothing at all unusual, panic began to rise up inside of her. Her vision began to unfocus just as her mind began to unravel. She whimpered, as her eyes closed, and slid into unconsciousness. Max heard that small sound and was completely awake and alert in an instant. Even though she looked like she was just sleeping, Max knew what he had heard. He shook her, trying to wake her up. No response. He brought his hand to her face and slid his fingers down from her temple to her cheek. Nothing. He closed his eyes and matched her breathing . . . till they were exactly the same . . . The connection was sharp and immediate. He could see Liz a short distance away. Walking toward her, he stopped as she turned to face him. Tess stepped out from behind Liz and whispered in her ear. Max couldn't hear what she said, but Liz's expression told him that it wasn't good news. Liz raised her eyes to his, as they filled with tears. What was going on? Tess stepped away from Liz and grinned at him as her image receded. Max could only imagine what Tess was up to now. He had to wake Liz up. That's why he was here in the first place. He took a few more steps towards her, but she held up her hands as if to keep him away. Her eyes were pleading with him for something . . . but, what? He didn't understand. He could feel her rising panic as he came closer to her, so he stopped. She dropped her hands and her head as she realized he wasn't coming any closer. Her shoulders shook as she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Max couldn't stand it another moment. He ran to her and knelt down in front of her pulling her into his arms.

-----------------------------------

They both woke up instantly. Max was still leaning over her, cupping her face, which was now wet with tears.

Max: "Liz . . . what is it?"

Liz: (her voice trembling) "She's using me . . . to find you. She's going to hurt you because of me . . . "

Max: (quietly) "Open your eyes Liz and look at me."

Liz slowly opened her eyes, but remained silent.

Max: "I don't care what Tess does. We'll be alright. She knows I'm stronger with you than I was without you, and she's angry because she can't connect with me anymore. She's just scaring you Liz.

Liz: (not convinced) "I don't know Max. How did she find me? How was that even possible?"

Max: (bewildered) "I'm not sure. . . . Liz, listen to me. She's a liar. You can't believe a word she says. Please trust me . . . the only way she could hurt me is to take you away from me again. Stay with me. We'll always stand a better chance of fighting her together."

Liz: (responding to the pleading tone in his voice) "Of course, I'll stay with you, Max. I just don't want to be used as a weapon against you . . . "

Max: (brushing her hair back) "I know. Don't worry. We'll figure out how she got to you tomorrow. You need to get some rest . . ."

Liz: (becoming aware of him lying halfway across her) " and, so do you . . . . "

Max fought against the desire to kiss her, because he was afraid at the very first touch he'd be lost to stopping anything short of making love to her. Her breath was warm and sweet, and the look in her eyes left no room for doubt.

Liz: "Max, are you ever going to kiss me?" (filled with longing)

Max: (struggling still but fading fast) "Liz . . . I can't just kiss you . . . . I can't . . ."

Liz: (sensing his weakening resolve) "After all we've been through, don't you know I don't want you to stop? . . . Please . . . "

Max (closing his eyes and flinching at her words as if they'd caused him physical pain . . . and they had): "I'm afraid."

Liz: (searching his now open eyes) "Of what?"

Max: "Of the way you make me feel. When I kiss you, it's not just a kiss . . . my whole body changes, and I don't have any control . . . "

Liz: (quietly understanding) "Mine does, too."

Three words. She had consigned his self-control to the outer reaches of the universe with three words. Max listened to her breathing as it shortened, and then became aware of his own doing the same thing. She had never looked more beautiful to him, even though they were covered in dust from the long walk and lying on hay. His heart ached for her, because he knew that the first time they made love should've been somewhere special, . . . a beautiful place, . . . some place that was at least clean, . . . somewhere . . . . . . else. But, here they were, and he didn't have any fight left.

Max: (closing his eyes again in resigned acceptance and then opening them again with a completely focused intense expression) "Tell me . . . tell me how you feel . . . "

Liz: (a momentary shyness came and went quickly as the pain of the past six months drowned it out) "I feel warm and then hot, and it's hard to breathe."

Max: (needing more) "What else?"

Liz: (bringing her hands up to touch his face) "I feel achy and like my skin is too tight and . . . "

Max: (cutting her off before she could go any further) "Where?"

Liz: (swallowing but no less determined) "Here . . . (sliding his hand down from her face to her breast and watching his face)

Max: (wondering how much more of this he could take . . . ) "Is that all?"

Liz: "No . . . (hesitating only for a moment before the desire to give him these words overcame the fear) . . . that's not all. (reaching for his hand again and dragging it down across her stomach and lower until . . . ) Here, too. "

Max could feel the heat coming from her body, in spite of the frigid temperature inside the car. He closed his eyes against the violence of the storm that was raging through his body now. He had asked for this, he reminded himself. And, he wasn't finished yet . . . . .

Max (opening his eyes and staring into hers, leaving neither one of them a place to hide): "How do you feel now . . . is it different?"

Liz (unprepared for the rush of sensations his hand had provoked): "Yes, . . . it's different."

Max: (wringing out the last drop of control he had left) "How is it different?"

Liz: "I feel warmer . . . wet . . . . "

Max bridged the last few inches that remained between them and closed his mouth over hers in a kiss that promised much more to come. Liz parted her lips as much from surprise as any other emotion. As soon as his lips touched hers, the connection between them had flooded her mind with his thoughts and feelings. The assault had been shocking to say the least. Without even meaning to, she had stripped away the last traces of restraint Max had been exerting over himself. His tongue slid into her mouth immediately, wiping out the last of her conscious thoughts . . .

Her unconscious thoughts were another matter entirely. They were flooding Max's mind in a torrent. He could not hear so much as he could feel what she wanted him to do. His hand moved automatically to the buttons on her shirt, undoing them quickly and letting the fabric fall open. Liz arched her back slightly and Max slid his hand around her back and unhooked her bra. As his hand travelled back around, he lifted the garment away from her skin and pushed it out of the way. Once again, the cold temperature in the car made itself felt. Liz shivered as the cold air came into contact with her fiery skin. Max's attention was riveted by the change in her body. He kissed a path down her neck to her breast and pulled her nipple inside his warm mouth sending shock waves through Liz's body as the change in temperature assaulted her nerves once more. He increased the pressure of his mouth on her as her sense of urgency seeped out across the connection between them. When she couldn't wait any longer, Liz reached for the waistband of his jeans. The snap flew apart with ease, but before she could lower the zipper, Max pressed her hand flat against his erection letting her get used to him slowly rather than scaring her. This was the first time she had ever touched him this way. He didn't want her to be afraid . . .

A half-second later Max became completely aware that Liz was anything but afraid of him at this moment in time. Even though she should be. He felt violent . . . .

He slid her hand further down between his legs, where every nerve in his body had congregated for just this occasion. He felt the tightening but ignored it, as her hand glided over him gently. Liz pulled away from his mouth momentarily. She felt the sensations running rampant through his body, but she needed the words, too.

Liz: "What does it feel like Max? When I touch you?"

Max: (strangled) "It feels like fire . . . and pleasure . . . and pain . . . "

Liz: (wanting more) "No, I mean really, what does it feel like?"

Max: (stumbling over the words he had so blatantly required of her) "It . . . hurts."

Liz: "Where?" . . . .

Max: (pulling her hand back up to his zipper) "Here . . . "

Liz: "What can I do to make it better?"

Max slid the zipper down and brought her hand back to the waistband of his shorts. Without further provocation, Liz slid her hand inside and wrapped her fingers around him. Max groaned, but he wasn't sure if it was in relief or agony . . .

His hands wandered to her pants and quickly removed them . . . Liz hardly noticed the cold, she was so caught up in the need for more . . .

Finally, she knew what she wanted from him more than anything else right now . . .

Liz: "Tell me . . . I want to know how you feel . . ."

Max: "I feel like I have to be inside you . . . . "

Liz would've smiled if she could, but all sense of humor had long since fled the scene. She tightened her grasp around his aching flesh, and Max pulled her solidly underneath him. He looked into her eyes one more time, just to make sure she hadn't changed her mind . . .

She hadn't. Her body delighted in the warmth of having his covering her. She had been so cold earlier in the evening . . . and now she was almost hot . . .

Max sank down heavily between her legs, spreading them farther apart. Covering her mouth with his, he began the journey into her body. He almost cried out from the pleasure . . . from the pain of knowing that Alex and Maria were sleeping not thirty feet away from them. He had wanted so much more for her than this . . .

Liz felt his anguish, and her mind quickly worked to let him know it was completely wasted on her . . .

For the first time, since Max had healed her, Liz knew why she was still alive . . . She should've died that day, but for one reason. Max Evans loved her, and she lived solely to return that love . . .

Max kept his mouth securely over hers as he slid in and out of her body, muffling out the cries she made and the one's he coudn't hold back. Maria and Alex never knew what had happened . . . .