I'll never give up on that boy.
Nor will you, for you promised him joy.
For I know it was true
When he said "yes" to you,
Though the enemy seeks to destroy.

And so in the gap I will stand,
Heeding your every command.
With help from above,
I unconditionally love,
And soon he will reach for your hand."
-Shirley Pope Waite

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It was less than a week later, and the sun finally shone again in the city of Boston. Max and Liz had decided to go to the Public Garden downtown and have a picnic to study for finals and to celebrate having a "good week". Since the night Liz had the horrific nightmare in which Nasedo killed her, neither she nor Max had had any visions or dreams involving Nasedo, Tess, or death in general. Liz was feeling energetic and happy, and Jordana seemed to be developing nicely. Liz's belly had already grown a considerable amount in just one week, and she had begun to feel Jordana moving around inside her.

She and Max were eating their sandwiches and watching the people go by. Liz laid on her back, suddenly feeling a little sleepy and wanting to get some well- deserved shut eye. With finals just two weeks away, they were both feeling the pressure of studying and work, on top of the ever-present wedding plans and feeling of imminent disaster looming over their heads at all times. Max looked up from his anatomy text book and chuckled.

"Lying down on the job already, short stuff?" He asked her, playfully throwing a pretzel stick at her arm.

"Oh, bite me, Evans. You don't have this little person moving inside you all the time, keeping you up all night." She said, turning her head to face him and smiling at him.

"Oh, boo-hoo." Max said. "You want me to quiz you on your chem stuff again?"

"Are you kidding me? I have that stuff down cold." Liz replied, laughing.

"Oh, really? I guess we can't all be as smart as Miss Elizabeth Marie Parker..." Max teased, shifting his body closer to hers. "...Soon to be Evans." He added proudly.

"Well, Mr. Maxwell Phillip Evans, we've always known that I'm the brains in this operation." She chuckled slyly, teasing him.

He smiled, sighing. "Yeah..." He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "And we've always known I'm the alien in this operation." He nibbled on her earlobe and she smiled.

"Max!" She cried.

He laughed. "Wow, you're really getting sensitive...I like this pregnancy stuff!" He said, returning to her earlobe.

"No, it's not that..." She said, laughing. "Not that it isn't...quite lovely..." They looked at each other lovingly and shared a kiss. "It's just...she's moving! The baby!" She grabbed Max's hand and placed it on her belly.

Max smiled, in awe of the feeling. They didn't ever have to wonder anymore if Jordana was all right- she was making her presence felt. He was elated. He'd never felt so relieved in his life.

"She's amazing..." Max began, looking into Liz's eyes.

"Well, she gets it from her mom." Liz replied, smiling and sticking her tongue out at Max. He leaned in and kissed her. Max was angered to see visions of Tess and Adam-Michael invade his brain while kissing Liz. He broke back from her quickly and Liz saw that something was wrong.

"Honey?" She said, her voice wavering. "What is it...What did you see?"

"Tess is here. I can feel it." He said, frantically grabbing her hand and standing the two of them up from the blanket. They craned their heads around, looking through the large crowds of people, trying to find any sign of Tess, Naesdo, or Adam-Michael.

"D-do do you see her?" Liz asked, terrified.

Max didn't hear her ask the question... he had found what he was looking for.

Not even a hundred yards from where they were sitting, he spotted Tess and their son standing beside a bench. They were both smiling and laughing. Tess was teaching him how to fly a kite. Max's heart sank. He wanted so badly for Adam-Michael to be with him-to be able to share simple moments like that with his son. His first born. "Liz, you stay here. I'm going to go talk to her." He began to walk away, but she grabbed his arm and looked frantically in his eyes.

"Max, don't leave me here alone. What if...Nasedo's nearby or something?" Liz said, knowing that her paranoia sounded ridiculous outloud but it was something that needed to be said.

Max leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, angel. How could I have been so stupid? Come with me." He said, pulling her towards him. They walked slowly over to Tess and Adam with their arms around each other's waists, holding onto each other for support. When they were within twenty feet of them, Tess looked over to Max and smiled. She leaned over to Adam-Michael, who was too busy playing with his kite to notice his dad was standing before him.

"Adam...there's your Daddy." Tess said, kissing his head. Adam dropped the kite and smiled.

"Daddy!" He screamed, running over to Max and Liz. He ran into Max's arms and hugged him close. Liz and Tess looked at the two of them in awe, neither of them expecting for Adam to accept his father, who was a virtual stranger to him, so quickly. Max picked him up and held him in his arms, spinning him around. He pulled Adam's face away from his neck so he could look into his son's eyes. Tess looked over at Liz to try to give her a look that said "look, he belongs to me now." but she wasn't paying attention. She was too busy looking at how well Max interacted with this child he barely even knew.

"Hey, pal." He said, smiling. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Daddy. Mommy taught me how to fly a kite! Look I'll show you! I can do it all by myself!"

"Okay!" Max said, smiling. He put Adam-Michael back on the ground and he grabbed the kite.

"Now, remember to get a running start, Adam!" Tess said to him as he picked the small red kite up from the grass.

"I know, Mommy, I can do it myself!" Adam said, beginning to run from them with the kite flying high above them.

"Adam, honey, don't run too far, okay? Stay where Mommy can see you!" Tess cried. She looked over at Max when Adam was out of earshot. "He really is a wonderful child. He's so well behaved."

Max grabbed Liz's hand. "Well, Tess, you've done an excellent job raising him."

Tess smiled. "Thank you, Max. It's been hard...being...alone." She wrapped her arms around herself. "But I suppose I have a few friends I can always count on...when I need them." She glared at Liz.

"Oh, like the one you tried to get to kill me those couple of times? Real great friends, Tess." Liz said, glaring right back at her. Max squeezed her hand tighter and Tess laughed.

"Liz, I don' t have the foggiest idea of what you're referring to! If someone's threatened your life or the life of your precious little baby, it hasn't been my fault..." Tess said, keeping her distance.

"We didn't come here to fight with you, Tess. We just wanted to say 'Hi' to Adam." Max said, trying to keep the peace between them. He felt torn in a way. He hated Tess as a person, but she would always be Adam's mother.

"Max, I told you that you're welcome to spend time with him. Just as long as your little whore isn't around." Tess said, smirking at Liz. Liz lunged for her but Max held her back.

"Tessa, Liz is going to be my wife in less than two months. She's the mother of my child. You better start respecting her or you will have no relationship with me whatsoever- not even as my friend."

"But you want to see Adam-Michael don't you?" Tess said. "He's been asking about you so much, Max...he misses you...he wants you to come live with us..." She said, walking over to him and putting her hand on his muscular shoulder. She rubbed her fingers down his chest seductively. Liz reached over with her free hand and smacked her across the face. "You BITCH!" Tess screamed. She raised her hand to smack Liz but Max grabbed her arm and twisted it.

"Now, Tess, that's not going to get you anywhere, is it?" Max asked her.

Liz lunged at her again. "Keep your hands off my husband."

Tess laughed. "He's not your husband...yet." She said ominously. She quickly put her hand to Liz's growing belly. "It would be a shame if something happened to that beautiful baby, now wouldn't it? What a tragedy." Max pushed her away from Liz.

"Don't EVER touch her." Max said. "Do you hear me Tessa? NEVER!" He screamed, grabbing her wrists and shaking them. Adam ran over to them. Tess and Max quickly let go of each other and stood in front of their child, ashamed. Adam looked up at his mom.

"Mommy, I need to tell you something." Adam said. Tess squatted down in front of him, fearing the worst.

"What, honey?" She asked him, smiling sweetly.

"Please don't hurt my baby sister." He said quietly.

Liz sank to the ground in shock. Max gasped as he felt tears come to his eyes. He put his arms around Liz and they both sat there in shock. Adam walked over to them and hugged the two of them. He put his hand on Liz's belly and rubbed it.

"Hi, Jordana...I'm your brother. I love you." He said, kissing her belly.

Liz smiled and began crying. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"How do you know her name, Adam?" Liz asked, looking into Adam's eyes.

"I see her in my dreams. She dances with me. We play at the beach and build sandcastles. Me, you, Daddy, and Jordana." He said, smiling. Liz and Max looked at each other with wonder.

"Well, after your sister is born, we'll take you to the beach someday. Would you like that, buddy?" Max asked his son.

"Yeah, Daddy. That would be so much fun!" Adam replied, his face lighting up with excitement.

Tess bit her lip, vowing not to let Liz or Max see how upset she was. Her eyes threatened to spill over with tears, but she suppressed them.

"Max, how does he...?" Liz asked him, smiling through tears of happiness.

"I'm not sure," Max said, smiling back at her. "Maybe because he and the baby are both...you know..."

"They have some sort of connection...maybe that's why she's been kicking so much since we've been at the park..." Liz began, rubbing her belly.

"...Cause she knew her big brother was nearby." Max said, smiling. "That's so cool..."

Tess grabbed Adam-Michael into her arms. "As fun as this little reunion has been, we really have to go now. Come on, honey."

"No, Mommy, I want to stay with Daddy and Lizzie!" Adam screamed, punching his fists into Tess's chest.

"No, Adam, you can't!" Tess screamed.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Adam-Michael screamed. He put his hand up to her chest and an inexplicable force pushed her onto the ground, releasing him from her grip. He ran over to Max and clung to his legs.

"Oh my God..." Liz whispered, covering her mouth with her hands. Tess was still sitting on the ground, in awe of what had just happened.

Her son was turning against her.

"No..." Tess said, shaking her head and screaming. "No, no!" She raised her hands and looked like she was about to snap.

Max knew something awful was about to happen. He turned to Liz and screamed at her. "RUN! Run, Liz!" Liz didn't waste anytime. She ran quickly back towards their blanket and Max picked up Adam-Michael, running back towards Tess. She fell into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Take him! Just take him!" Tess said. "He doesn't want me anymore! He doesn't love me! No one loves me, no one cares!"

Max sighed. Adam-Michael rested his head on his dad's shoulder and he put his arm around Tess. "Tess...that's not true." He said, biting his lip. He was lying through his teeth.

"Yes it is. You were my destiny, Max, and you rejected me. MY DESTINY. My reason for living! Now you're gone...forever! Why am I still here? I've failed to live up to my duty- the reason why I was created!" Tess screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Tess, look...just because I don't love you anymore doesn't mean you didn't live up to your duty...I chose my destiny. My destiny is with Liz, it always has been." Max said. "And you're a fool if you think you're going to stand in the way of it."

"A fool, Max?" She asked, looking into his eyes and wiping her tears away. "We'll see. We'll see how happy you are when Liz is gone."

Max's eyes widened in fear. "Gone?"

"That's right. Gone."

"Tess, if you touch her, so help me..."

"You'll do what, Max? Kill me? Go ahead! I don't care! You'll be putting me out of my misery!" She looked at her son and began crying again. "Goodbye, my precious little boy. I love you so much." She kissed his hand. He was too young to understand what was happening so he just looked away from her. This brought on a new wave of torment to Tess's already broken soul.

She looked up at Max. "I'll be over in a few days with his things. Goodbye, Max." She planted a warm kiss on Max's unresponsive lips.

Max watched her walk away and the sky began to cloud up. He and Adam-Michael looked up to the sky.

"Daddy, we better get home...a storm's coming." He said.

Max looked into his son's eyes then looked at the image of Tess walking away from them. He knew then that it wasn't over.

Tess had nothing left to lose- she wanted to die. She was capable of anything...even cold-blooded murder.

Liz and Jordana were far from safe.