I am placing my hope in her. She is the only one that can help him through this. The only one that can stop him from cutting himself off from us forever…

Liz waited as Max clung to her. He was always so strong and she felt humbled that she was the one he turned to whenever he needed someone to share his burden. She wished there was something that she could say that could help, but there was just too much to take in right now. His parents and his planet was gone, his nephew had used him for an experiment, and as usual, Max was worried about what all this would do to her. She knew him so well by now.

Max suddenly shifted in her arms, leaning away so he could kiss her. The kiss was filled with pain and desperation and Liz opened herself to him, showing him all the love and support she feels for him. He kept his kisses up for endless minutes, his mouth slanting over hers in a dance as old as time.

He leant his forehead against hers when he finally ended the kiss. "Liz…. I… I really need to… Please, can I just..."

He needed her. She felt his need crashing over her, but also his concern that she might get the wrong impression about this. That she might think that their relationship has now become only about the physical for him. She kissed him softly and rubbed their noses together for a sweet moment, before taking his hand and leading him to the bed.

He stopped her when she reached down to take off her shirt. Staring into her eyes, his face held a look of such wonder and awe that it completely arrested her attention.

"I love you. Only you. Only ever you." It was a solemn promise that warmed her heart.

"Max, I need you to know that this commitment I made to you… its for forever. No matter what happens from now on. Or what you learn about yourself. Or how long it takes you to do whatever you have to do for your people… I am yours. All of me. Always."

He stopped breathing at the last comment. ‘She is mine.’ The thought made him feel protective and dizzy with lust at the same time. Desire slowly won the contest, so he helped her to pull her shirt over her head. She was perfect to him. She was everything he wanted or would ever want.

Leaning in to kiss her again, he lifted her up and placed her carefully on the bed. Kneeling over her, he continued to kiss her. Kiss her like she was water after a long desert drought. He ran his hands over her body, his fingers skimming her curves as if trying to commit them to memory. She arched under his hands, stoking the fire in his blood to new heights. He idly wondered how it was possible that she knew instinctively what to do to increase his desire for her.

His hands and lips were magical. They made her feel like she was in a different world. One where nothing but the two of them mattered. She ran her hands under his shirt, relishing in the heat of his skin and the velvet steel of his muscles. Pushing the shirt up and over his shoulders, she had to tear her lips away from his to get him to take the shirt off. He seemed reluctant to break contact with her. His breathing was ragged, his face flushed and his eyes had darkened to a fiery black. His gaze, skipping over her face and coming to rest on her mouth, caused a sharp ache in the pit of her stomach. Liz raked her fingers down his back and pressed his lower body into hers when she reached his jeans. They both groaned with the contact.

Max was frantic to have her. He needed to lose himself in her and forget the things that Nick had told them today for a few precious minutes. He basically ripped the rest of their clothes off, desperate to feel her skin next to his. Closing his eyes, he concentrated for a moment on the exquisite pleasure of having Liz in his arms before her moan brought him back to the present.

"Max…please."

Their gazes locked as he joined them and they watched the various emotions flitting across each other’s faces. Their connection opened unexpectedly and flooded them with feelings and images that left them gasping. It was the most intense experience not only being physically close to someone, but to also share their deepest and most intense feelings. Nothing in this world, or any other, could compare with this…

~*~*~*~*~*~

They met for breakfast the next morning. If anything, the night has brought them closer to their partners. Alex and Isabel held hands, while Michael had his arm around Maria’s shoulders. Max stood behind Liz, his hands resting on her waist. They were all looking at him.

Max felt a lot calmer than yesterday. Being with Liz had reaffirmed his faith in the possibility that everything could be worked out. He had regained his balance…

"Okay, I think we need to all have a chance to say how we feel about Nick’s experiment. Izzy, why don’t you start." Max looked at her.

Isabel looked uncomfortable. "Well, I hate that they brought us here under false pretences. And I really wanted to know my real mother… I… I don’t know, Max, its all really raw right now. I don’t hate Nick, if that’s what you’re asking."

Max turned to Michael, but he was staring at the table sullenly. Maria nudged him in the side. "Whatever. He did what he did, now we’re back where we started."

"Maria?" Max startled her.

Maria looked at Michael, not sure what to say. He was not meeting her eyes. "I think that the guy was probably trying to do the right thing, but he did it in a really misguided way. I don’t like that he hurt all of you in the process, though."

Alex spoke up next. "It’s not really my place to judge, because this affects the three of you the most. But I can see that he would have been desperate, so I guess I can understand where he came from."

"Liz?"

Liz swallowed nervously. For some reason she felt like a lot was riding on her answer. "Max, this man lost an entire planet of people. Your people. I don’t agree with his methods, but I think he was trying his best." Her eyes pleaded with Max: "He was there for me when you… I think he really cares about all of us. Yeah, I think we should give him a chance."

Max was staring at her in surprise. He knew he shouldn’t be, she was such a softhearted person, but after all that she had gone through as a result of him and his race, she was still able to forgive.

Liz stepped closer to Max. "He wasn’t trying to break us up during all this time. He was trying to understand how these people could fit in on this planet. He did our bonding ceremony. He let us go off alone the other night. He WANTS us together… I think we are stronger now because of him. And Max, we CAN be together. Forever."

All eyes were on Max again. In the end, they were looking to him to make a decision. Max turned away from the weight of their stares. He remembered how devastated Liz had been about Tess and her interference in their lives. Her inconsolable crying when she walked away from him at the cave that day. That Liz was kidnapped by Nacedo. Drugged by Nick and his people. How was he ever going to get past that? But on the other hand, Nick had helped him that day that he decided to do the ceremony with Liz. Nick had kept Tess from using anymore mind control on him. He had looked after Liz when Max was not here. Max had also seen Nick’s bewilderment at feeling emotions and it reminded him of when Izzy and him first came to stay with the Evans’. He had felt lost and alone and confused. It had taken the love of his new parents and the beauty and grace of a little dark-haired girl to teach him what it meant to belong and be human. What it was like to love and be loved…

"I think we need some time apart from Nick and these people to gain perspective. Right now I’m having trouble forgetting some of the things that he was involved in. But… I agree that we should give him a chance. Later. For right now, we need to come up with a plan on how we’re going to handle going back home."