They have all chosen their human mates proving that genetic coding CAN be overcome. This part of the experiment is complete. Now, on to the next phase.

Max’s decision to have Liz stay with him had a silent, but definite impact on the rest of the group. Although nothing was discussed, Maria moved in with Michael and Isabel was really glad to get away from Tess and into Alex’s tent. It was like all of them had waited for Max to take the first step in defying their destinies.

Max hadn’t really thought his idea to keep Liz with him through, but all he knew was that he wanted her near so he could at least try to protect her. Yes, that was all. It had nothing to do with the fact that waking up with her had been a lifelong fantasy of his. No, this was only for Liz’s protection…When he was finally satisfied that she was relatively okay, he had left her on his spare bed with Maria and Alex as company. Liz would still not tell him anything about her experience and got agitated if he pressed the issue. The remnants of the incredible anger that had slammed through him at the thought that Tess would want to hurt Liz were still present and he needed to get away to calm down or he would burst.Getting in his Jeep, he took off into the desert, his hands gripping the steering wheel fiercely. He had to do something to protect Liz from other attempts to remove her from his life. Also, he needed help in protecting her. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t be with her every second of every day. Driving around the desert aimlessly, Max could come up with only one solution to his problem…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria was sitting with Liz’s head in her lap, while Alex was giving her a foot massage. Neither of them were having any success in getting Liz to talk about what had been going on in her dreams. Maria had tried everything she could think of: best friends should help each other, Tess should die, Pam Troy was a bimbo, Max without a shirt… Nothing. Liz talked to them about everything but the topic they wanted to discuss. Maria finally decided to use her trump card. It was low, but she had nothing else to use. "Lizzie, you should have seen Max when we couldn’t wake you up. He was so out of his mind. I think he was crying. You really scared him!"

This made Liz sit up and rub wearily at her eyes, where tears were starting to form again. She would never forget that look on Max’s face. She knew he loved her, but the desperate fear of losing her that he exhibited today was absolutely scary. Never again would she doubt the depth of his feelings for her.

Alex put his arm around his friend. "Liz, you have to talk to Max. Its going to kill him if you keep stuff from him. He wants… no, he NEEDS to help you."

Liz leant into Alex, into the embrace she knew so well from many years of comforting each other. She wanted to talk to someone, but not Max. She knew how he would feel if she told him what had been happening in her head. Yes, she needed to talk to someone, but before that she needed to do something special for Max tonight. To show him how much she loved him back.

"Maria, could you help me with something? I need tonight to be special with Max."

Alex jumped up and held up his hands. "Whoa, I don’t think I wanna be hearing this! And you better not be talking about… you know what, missy!"

Liz smiled sunnily for the first time that day. "No Alex, don’t freak. I just really want some alone time with Max and after how I scared him today, maybe I could try and make up for it, you know." She grabbed Alex by the arm when he tried to leave. "You must help me. Keep Max out of here until we’re ready."

Alex sighed dramatically. Since he’s been friends with these two, he always ended up being pulled into their schemes. "Whatever. But I’m not promising anything. That guy is scary when he wants to see you and people try to stop him!"

Liz hugged him. She knew he would come through in the end. She turned to Maria after Alex exited. "Okay, let’s make some magic!"

"Hmmpf!" Maria grumbled. "We need the alien magicians for that!" But she dutifully sat down to listen to Liz’s plan.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In the end, Alex didn’t have a tough task. Max only came back after lunch and then he went to see Nick in his tent. They stayed in there talking for hours. When he came out, he was cornered by Isabel who insisted on trying to get the contents of his meeting with Nick out of him. (Alex had enlisted her help.) Apart from saying that Nick was fine with the new sleeping arrangements, Max was tight lipped about the rest. Isabel couldn’t even get him to react so that she could surmise whether the meeting had been positive or negative.

Finally Max had had it. "Izzy, could you stop. I haven’t seen Liz all day and I want to make sure she’s all right."

Just then, Maria walked in and took over from Isabel to delay him. She explained Liz’s day in great detail. From how long she slept, to what she said and what she had for lunch. She only stopped when she saw that Max was starting to get worried. Glancing surreptitiously at her watch, she let Max go.

Michael intercepted Max on the way to his tent. Max was starting to feel like screaming. Was he never going to see Liz again?

"Hey Max, Liz is still sleeping." Michael was lying through his teeth. "I grabbed some of your stuff so you can have a shower." He didn’t even wait for an answer, but dragged Max off.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was dusk by the time Max finally reached their tent. He pondered for a moment on how wonderful that sounded. "Their" tent. He had dreamed of having a home with Liz one day, but this will have to do until then. He rubbed his hair with the towel Michael had given him. Although, he had to wonder how Michael was able to so successfully organize a clean set of clothes for him.

He stopped in his tracks when he entered the tent. Candles were scattered throughout the room, giving the interior a golden glow. A table had been set to one side, two place settings adorning it. But his attention had only been half-fixed on all the trappings. His eyes had found her immediately. She stood next to the table and she took his breath away.

Liz was wearing a white tank-top with spaghetti straps that molded to her upper body. With that she had on a long, slim, white skirt that fell to her bare feet and had a slit that came up to mid-thigh on one side. The candlelight lovingly painted her skin with gold. She had a hesitant smile on her lips and Max couldn’t get a word out.

Liz was getting worried when Max just stood there, staring at her. The heat in his eyes told her that he was happy with her attempt at romance, but she needed him to say it out loud. Putting her hands behind her back, and trying not to notice how this made Max’s eyes drop lower from her lips, she cleared her throat. "Hey."

Max finally dropped the towel that was still in his hand. It was Liz’s turn to be struck dumb. He always looked sexy in jeans, but tonight he was wearing a white shirt over it that was left unbuttoned.

"If you keep looking at me that way, we’ll never eat." Max’s gruff voice interrupted Liz’s helpless inspection of his bare chest. She pulled her eyes up hastily and hoped he couldn’t see her blush.

"Uhm... yeah. I just thought we could have a quiet dinner. Together. I mean…" Liz was stammering and feeling more and more like a love-struck teenager. What she and Max had was so much more, but when he looked like this, hair mussed from the shower, shirt hanging open and that gorgeous half-smile that he kept only for her, she was lost. "Would you like to eat?" She ended lamely.

"Only if you kiss me first." His voice was low.

Liz didn’t need a second invitation, but walked over to him slowly, enjoying the feel of his dark eyes watching her progress. She marveled at how one look from Max could make her feel sensual and loved.

Max watched in fascination as her movements gave him tantalizing glimpses of her bare leg. "You take my breath away." He whispered in awe.

She reached him. "I love you." Standing on tiptoe, she slid her arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to hers. The kiss was long, deep and gentle. It was an affirmation of their love for each other and a promise of so much more to come.

They pulled apart, sharing a smile. Neither of them wanted this quiet and tender moment to end. Max threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the table. He pulled out her chair and sat down across from her, taking her hand again. They didn’t really notice what they ate. It didn’t matter as long as they were together. They talked about school, what was going on with their friends, how Maria had threatened Michael with death to get him to co-operate with Liz’s little scheme.

Liz basked in each smile from Max. They were precious to her because they were so rare. She knew he must be worried about a lot of things and she didn’t want to add to his burden. Instead, she wanted to be the one person that could help him lighten the load.

She waited until Max had finished eating and slowly stood up to round the table. Max pushed back his chair to get up, but Liz stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him provocatively while sliding onto his lap. "Okay, Mr Evans. Dessert is on me."