The tension levels have dropped dramatically since the change in pairings. Training has improved and I am hoping the second phase of the test does not affect this. Their bonds seem strong, but so much of it is built on a fickle emotion. An emotion that is as foreign to us as it is accepted by them.

Liz came awake reluctantly the next morning. She had been dreaming of Max whispering sweet nothings in her ear and she didn’t really want to face reality yet. She kept her eyes closed and wished she could return to her dream world. How was she supposed to get up and go to work when she was feeling this mellow?

"Hey, lovely sleepyhead."

Liz started in surprise and her eyes finally flew open. She wasn’t in her bed at home. She didn’t need to get up to serve the breakfast crowd at the Crashdown. She was very much in bed with Max Evans, who, by the way, had his one hand under her shirt on her bare stomach. She looked up at him suspiciously. "How long have you been awake and what have you been doing to me in my sleep?"

Max was propped up on one elbow, watching Liz who was lying on her back. He grinned. "Hmmm, wouldn’t you like to know? But I’ll say this, I now know that you have a birthmark on your-."

"Hey!" Liz was mortified. And then she saw the mischief in his eyes. "You jerk! You’ve been the perfect gentleman, haven’t you?"

"Yeah. But I’m willing to change that now if you like…" His voice had lost some of its mirth and was a few octaves lower. Liz felt the change reverberate through her body.

He shifted closer to her, slinging one leg over hers and effectively pinning her to the mattress. He trailed his lips over hers softly, rubbing their open mouths together without deepening the kiss. "I love you," he whispered against her mouth. "I wish I could wake up with you like this forever."

Liz smiled. "Me too." She put one hand on his chest, letting her fingers trail over his skin while she enjoyed his gentle exploration of her lips. He was absently moving his hand back and forth over her stomach, creating a tingling sensation deep in her body. She couldn’t stop herself from arching up into that magic touch. She heard him inhale sharply as he reared away from her.

Liz caught his hand and pressed it against her firmly, just above the edge of her pants. "Do you even know how you make me feel sometimes?" She looked up into his eyes, seeing the gradual darkening of desire there.

"Tell me." His voice sounded strained, even to his own ears.

Liz swallowed. How does she explain the things happening in her body without sounding cheesy or trashy? Her gaze fluttered away from his, embarrassed. But he has given her so much, she owed it to him to at least try to explain. "I burn."

Max had been waiting patiently for her to overcome her sudden bout of shyness. But he wasn’t prepared for the maelstrom her words would create in his body, in his mind, in his soul.

Liz continued, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "I ache here." She pressed his hand down on her stomach again. "And…" she took a deep breath, waiting a few beats before moving his hand to her breast. "And here."

Max felt like he had been hit by lightning. Liz seemed unaware of the havoc she was creating. She was determined to give him this gift of honesty and was concentrating on telling him how she felt by finding the right words.

She suddenly looked up at him again. Her brow furrowed. "Max, how is it possible that I know that you would make me feel complete? That only you could fill this… this hollowness inside my body?"

Max could hardly speak, but she was looking at him with such solemnity that he had to try. "The same way I know that being inside you would complete me too." She nodded, accepting his explanation.

Curving his hand around her breast, he leant in and kissed her with furious passion, hurling them both away into a place where the only thing that mattered was the sensations they created for each other. Liz arched into his hand and threw her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down on hers more firmly. She kissed him back with a ferocity that dazed him. Her tongue glided against his as she fought him for entry to his mouth. He finally gave it to her with a groan.

Liz shifted, allowing Max’s thigh to slide between hers. She pressed against him and the feeling was incredible. It lessened the ache in the pit of her stomach momentarily, only to bring it back thousand-fold immediately thereafter.

"Maxwell!" Michael’s voice was an unwelcome intrusion in their little heaven.

"Oh my god! Michael! Did I not tell you not to come in here unannounced?" Maria was dragging Michael out of the tent, casting an apologetic glance over her shoulder.

Max rested his head on Liz’s shoulder with a sigh. "We really need to get a house far away from them one day!"

Liz was still having trouble grasping reality since Max has not removed his hand from her breast yet. She tried taking deep breaths to calm herself, but the only thing that accomplished was to accentuate the feel of his hand on her heated skin.

Max finally lifted his head, smiling at her ruefully. "You make me lose my head sometimes. I’m sorry I got so… out of hand."

Liz ran her hand over his jaw. "I loved it. You have my permission to do it more often!"

"I don’t think so! It will be the death of me." He watched her in silence for a few moments before pulling away from her and rolling onto his back. "Would you mind leaving me here on my own for a while? I need to… to get my breath back."

Liz smiled. ‘Get his breath back indeed!’ "Yeah, I’ll go shower." She gave him a quick kiss. "I’ll see you at breakfast."

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was like old times. The six of them around a table. Maria bickering with Michael. Alex being attentive to Izzy’s every need. And Max and Liz having silent conversations with their eyes.

The other camp inhabitants watched all of this from the sidelines. The loving looks and touches were something foreign to them and they wondered at the emotions that drove humans to such actions.

With breakfast over, the three aliens departed for some more training with Nick, but not after they said goodbye to their respective other’s. It was such a relief not to keep from physical closeness in the presence of other members of the camp.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Journal Entry 17

Love remains a confusing concept. What does it mean to love someone? How far would you go for that love?

Liz felt a little lost as her two friends went off to their respective "jobs" at the camp. She wandered around aimlessly for a while before Jans found her.

"Hi." He looked at her closely. "Are you okay?" He was obviously referring to the incident yesterday morning.

Liz blushed, sure that by now the whole camp knew of her trauma. Not to mention the scene Max made after it. She couldn’t believe it at first when Maria told her that Max had basically thrown Jans across the tent for just being near her. That so did not sound like Max!

"Yeah, I’m fine now. Sorry about yesterday."

Jans just smiled. "I can see how he gets that way about you…" His gaze was intense and Liz squirmed under the weight of it.

"So…" She began, not really knowing what to say.

He seemed to snap out of his trance. Oh yeah, Nick asked me to keep you occupied while… Max is away. Is there something you would like to do?"

A kernel of a thought was taking shape in her mind. She turned to Jans with a determined look. "Yes, actually there is." She explained to him what she needed and almost laughed at the surprise on his face.