Not even Maria's disapproving frown could wipe the smile of pure satisfaction off Liz's face. She was incredibly pleased with herself at the moment. Liz folded her hands behind the back of her head, her smile widening. "What am I doing, Maria?"

Maria came forward and wrapped her knuckles against Liz's forehead. "Hello?"

"Ow! Stop it!" Liz exclaimed, flinching. She rubbed her throbbing forehead. "Why'd you do that?"

"Liz, wake up! I mean, the man is living with another woman! Get a clue!"

Liz's expression remained unaffected. She shrugged. "He doesn't love her, Maria."

"He lives with her, Liz."

Liz's smile finally faded to a frown of exasperation. Couldn't she be happy for two seconds without someone trying to bring her back to reality? A deep and tired sigh wheezed from Liz's chest. She looked at Maria with a lackluster expression. "So what are you trying to say, Maria?"

Maria scooted onto the bed and grabbed Liz's hand, her expression earnest. "I'm not trying to rain on your parade, Liz. Really that's not my intention at all. I want you and Max to get back together."

"Well, that is what we're trying to do, Maria."

"I know. But you're going too fast."

"Too fast! Maria, we've been apart for nine months!"

"Exactly my point. You're just now beginning to trust Max again and vice versa. I wouldn't want to see you guys make the same mistake all over again."

Liz chewed at her bottom lip. She could feel herself becoming angry, but she struggled to hold her temper in check.

"And what mistake would that be, Maria?"

"Rushing back into a relationship too quickly," Maria clarified softly.

"That's not what we're doing," Liz denied. "Isn't it?"

Liz found herself considering Maria's argument even though she really didn't want to. Max hadn't even officially ended his relationship with Tess and he and Liz were kissing. And what if Max didn't want to end the relationship? What if he thought kissing Liz was a mistake? Liz shook her head to clear it of the disturbing thoughts.

"Liz, listen to me," Maria said, seeing that Liz was obviously in torment, "You and Max just had a baby. That had to be a profound moment for you two and it had to bring you closer. But I just don't want you to be caught up in the emotion of the moment and negate everything else."

"What am I negating, besides Tess?"

"Well, you and Max have been together like three years. . ."

"Almost four," Liz corrected.

"Ok, four, anyway, the two of you have never really dated. Max has never courted you, you know. Like bringing you flowers and taking you out. You know, general trying to win your heart stuff."

"And. . . .?"

"Don't you want any of that, Liz?"

"Of course I do."

"Then let Max chase you for a change. Let him show you how much he wants you. Let him prove his love to you. At this point you don't owe him anything."

"Maria, I cheated on him. . ."

"You also risked your life for him, lied for him and you would have died for him." Maria took Liz's face tenderly between her hands. "You're a wonderful woman, Liz. Don't short change yourself. One mistake does not make you Jezebel," she told Liz softly.

"I just miss him so much, Maria," Liz admitted in a small voice, her words slightly choked by tears. Maria leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I know you do. But Max needs to make a choice: you or Tess. And if he wants you. . .let him prove it."

Liz nodded, knowing Maria was right. Tears slipped down her cheeks even though she didn't know the exact reason she was crying. Maria quickly whisked them away. "But then again, what do I know. My love life is in shambles!" Maria teased. She succeeded in making Liz laugh.

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

Max entered room 203 with a small smile. Liz was sitting upright in the bed, their baby cradled in her arms. She was breastfeeding. Liz's hair fell forward, half shielding the baby from view. She pushed it back over her shoulder, laughing softly as Claudia beat her tiny fist against her breast. Max's breath stopped at the glorious scene they presented. His family. Max found himself momentarily stunned by the idea. Liz and Claudia were his family.

When he finally came fully into the room he caught Liz's attention and she finally tore her fascinated gaze away from her child. Her smile widened when she saw Max. He was holding a bouquet of pink and white flowers. His face was enraptured, his eyes fixed on her feeding daughter.

"Hey," he finally said when he lifted his eyes to Liz, "I brought you flowers."

"They're beautiful, Max!" Liz said as she took them. She inhaled their sweet scent, her eyes closed.

"I'm not sure what kind they are. I just thought they looked pretty."

Liz offered him a gentle smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Can you lay them on the table," Liz told him, smiling because he was actually blushing.

"Does that hurt," he asked, taking a seat beside Liz on the bed. Max caressed their daughter's soft, curling hair. He tried not to look down at the creamy mound of flesh that Liz had exposed but it was hard not to. It had been almost a year since he'd seen Liz's naked breasts. They looked much bigger.

Liz smiled when she noticed where his eyes were glued. "Only when she tugs."

"The nurses told me that you asked for her earlier, that you wanted to keep her in here with you."

"I know," Liz sighed as she ran her hand down the baby's soft cheek, "I just can't stop touching her."

"I bought her a bear," Max smiled, "It's kinda big so I had to leave it in the jeep."

"Max, she's a newborn!"

Max just shrugged, rubbing the baby's small feet between his fingers. He studied every inch of her. She made a greedy sucking sound as she nursed. Max chuckled softly, envying his daughter. You're where I wanna be kid, he thought wryly. He looked up at Liz to find her regarding him solemnly.

"We need to talk, Max."

For some reason those words sent a sense of foreboding streaking through Max. He immediately tensed up. All his movements ceased. "About what?"

"About this afternoon."

Max sighed deeply, dreading what she was about to say. He decided to beat her to it. "You regret it. You wished it hadn't happened," he predicted dryly.

"Not at all," Liz contradicted with a smile, "I'm overjoyed that it happened."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I just don't want us to rush into things, you know, we should. . . .take things slow."

"I thought we were taking things slow, Liz."

"No, I'm saying I think we should date for a while."

Max looked at her incredulously. "Date? Liz, we just had a baby! Dating seems a little. . .I don't know." He couldn't find the right words. It just seemed like they were closing the barn doors after the cow had escaped, so to speak. Dating seemed a lot like going backwards instead of forward.

"This is all irrelevant anyway," Liz said dismissively, "You're still with Tess."

"No, I'm not."

Liz couldn't stop the happy smile that spread across her face. "What?"

"I broke up with her after we left this morning. To make a long story short I'm currently homeless."

Liz clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, but they escaped anyway. Max kept his face scrupulously straight. "It's not funny," he said in mock seriousness, "Now I have to go back home to my Mom and Dad. And I'm not guaranteed a place with them, just know that right now."

Liz laughed harder. Max lost his battle with smiling. "But I want you to know, Liz, that I don't regret doing it. I never should have started with Tess to begin with. It was. . .just. . .when I left you there was this void, this big hole in my heart. . . . I just wanted to fill it."

Their eyes met in a profound stare. Liz laid her hand consolingly on his sleeve. "I understand, Max. I really do." When she had seen Max and Tess together that day in the café Liz had felt that void as well. She had turned to Cam to fill it. And that had been the biggest mistake of her life.

"Liz, what you said. . .you know. . .about dating? Is that what you really want?"

"I want to know you again," Liz admitted tenderly, "I want us to be normal for a change. We have so much time. . .there's no need to rush."

Max hung his head down. "I've just wasted so much time. . .with Tess. . ."

"We have the rest of our lives, Max. Let's start over, ok?"

Max leaned forward and kissed her softly then bent and kissed their daughter. When he lifted his eyes again they were shining with pure love. "Ok."