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Max clutched Liz close to his body, racing out of the auditorium and running until he found a safe place to take her- an unlocked janitor’s closet in the hallway. He pulled off his jacket and laid it on the floor in the closet, while making sure the door was locked behind him.

“Max, Max, hurry… I don’t think…” Liz said, her eyes fluttering with warm wet tears. He ran over to her and pulled her sundress up just enough to reveal her small belly. His eyes lit up in horror when he saw what was there…

The symbol was turning from its peaceful iridescent glow to an ominous black.

“Oh, God, Liz…what did she do to you?”

Liz opened her eyes, her entire body violently shaking. “Morgan…she’s Nasedo…she touched my stomach…and that’s why…I’m like this…it’s her, Max…it’s her…” She kept repeating.

He touched her stomach and he got a horrifying flash.

Instead of the serene white light he usually sees, accompanied by the smiling face of his unborn daughter, he saw nothing but darkness…like Liz’s insides were nothing but a hollow cave-and their daughter didn’t exist anymore…

“No, no…” He screamed. He didn’t waste anymore time. He placed his hand firmly on Liz’s belly. “Liz, look at me.”

At that moment, they connected.

**The first time he ever saw Liz.

Seeing her walking through the halls of West Roswell High, before the day he saved her life.

The terror they both felt at the exact moment Liz was shot.

The exact moment she fell in love with him… looking into his eyes and seeing her own soul- her own heart.

The pain they both felt in their time apart.

The first time they ever made love.

Max sneaking into Liz and Morgan’s dorm room when Morgan was away.

The night he asked her to marry him.

All their lazy afternoons together in bed, away from the rest of the world.

Then Tess…and Adam-Michael…and finally…

Their Jordana.

He saw Liz walking towards him in a flowing white gown, carrying their sleeping baby in her arms.**

Suddenly, the connection was broken.

“Liz…” He whispered, looking painfully into her eyes.

“Max…” She said. He lifted his hand from her hot skin and saw the familiar glowing silver handprint from when he saved her life that day in the Crashdown.

And the tiny symbol marking Jordana’s existence was alive and well again.

“Oh, God, Max, she’s okay! She’s ok…” Liz said, flinging herself into Max’s arms. He sighed comfortably, showering her with hundreds of tiny kisses all over her. He then turned his attention to her glowing abdomen.

He planted one sweet kiss on the symbol and smiled into her skin. “I’m always here for you, sweetie…I’m sorry you had to go through that…we love you so much and we will never stop believing in you…”

Liz smiled through a wash of tears. “Max, thank you…” Liz said. “We would have died…”

Max looked up at her then, his big brown eyes flowing with seemingly endless tears. "You're going to be all right. Both of you." He hugged her to him like she was going to disappear if he let her go. "Do you want to stay here for a few minutes or do you want me to go ahead and take you home?"

"Max, you don't have to take me home, you have a big exam in two days, you need to be in class."

"Liz, that's not important right now!"

"Getting into med school isn't important?"

Max paused. "Of course it is, but I choose my priorities. And right now, my family is my first priority."

Liz smiled up at him. She didn't know what was going to happen to her or the baby, but she knew deep down in her heart that Max would protect both of them, no matter what.

* * * * *

Max held Liz's hand as he drove them home. He thanked God that the day this happened was the day he had taken Michael and Maria to the airport and had driven to school. He didn't think he could stand a long train ride home with her. He wanted to get her home as soon as possible. The ride home was relatively quiet, mostly because Liz was taking a little cat nap and Max was too enraged to speak.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he pondered his options. If Tess was going to continue to endanger the safety and well-being of Liz and their daughter, he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. On the other hand, he could never kill anyone- especially the mother of his first born child, and one of his own kind.

Then there was the matter of Nasedo or Morgan, or whoever the hell he was now. Max was fairly certain he had gone on to take another human form by now. Max beat himself up for not putting two and two together earlier. After the incident the night Liz found out she was pregnant, and all the things she told him about Morgan's odd behavior, Max should have insisted that they not have contact anymore- just to be on the safe side. But he didn't listen to the side of him saying he was just being paranoid, and that almost cost him is soon-to-be-wife and daughter. He was getting married in like two months! They hadn't even begun to plan or do anything for it. He couldn't believe that all this shit with Tess and Nasedo was really happening. And on top of it all, they had finals and graduation in less than 3 weeks!

Max couldn't take all the pressure and stress anymore. He waited until it was safe and pulled over on the side of the road once they'd reached the neighborhood of Brighton, which was about 10 minutes from home. He put his head on the steering wheel and began sobbing uncontrollably.

The sound of his sobbing and the feeling of the car's engine switching off startled Liz out of her sleep. She put her hand on his cheek.

"Sweetheart..." She said, trying her best to calm him down. He looked into her eyes and she saw an emptiness... fear, rage, pain... it scared her. Those eyes did not belong to the eyes of her Max. All this stress was making him change...on the inside too.

Max began breathing shallow breaths. "Liz..."

"What..." She said, taking his hands into hers. "Talk to me..."

"I...I...keep having these...feelings, these strong urges..." Max said, gripping his hands tighter on the steering wheel.

Liz's eyes grew wider as she listened to the man she loved speaking to her. "...Urges? To do...what?" She asked, her voice cracking with fear.

"When I saw you lying there, you dying, Jordana...dying..." Max said, choking back sobs. "...I thought only one thing...I wanted to...kill...whoever did this to you. So you would always be safe."

Liz gasped.

"I know, I know, it's crazy, and stupid, and awful..."

"Max, that's not like you... you could never...kill...anyone." It made Liz grimaced to even say the word.

"...but if I don't, she's going to kill you, and she's going to kill Jordana." Max pleaded with her.

"Max, I know you, maybe even better than you know yourself- and you could never kill anyone, especially the mother of your son." Liz said. "Even if she is a monster."

"But, Liz..." Max cringed. He was even scaring himself about what he was thinking. He just wanted her dead. Both of them. She and Nasedo.

"Max. There are other ways we can get her out of our lives."

"Liz, what happens the next time she does this and I'm not there to help you?" Max said, taking her fingers and lacing them with his. "I would never forgive myself if..."

Liz wiped his cheek with her hand. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek where the tear used to be. "Nothing's going to happen to me. You and I, we're stronger than hate. We're stronger than evil. We're stronger than Tess."

Max looked into her eyes. He'd never been so scared in his life. He knew he couldn't just sit around and wait for Tess to attack Liz again. There was just too much at stake.

"Let's go home." Liz said, smiling. "I'd love to take a nap with you in my arms."

Max tried to smile, but he was terrified. He resolved to call Michael and Isabel when he got home. He needed their help, now more than ever.

* * * * *

Tess and Adam-Michael's Home
Later that afternoon

"Mommy, can I watch another video?" Adam-Michael asked his mother, who was pacing in the kitchen, the cordless phone in her hand. Nasedo had just called her to tell her that Liz discovered that she was really Morgan. Nasedo also told Tess that Liz was in noticable pain when he last saw her.

"Fine, whatever, Adam...just leave Mommy alone, ok? I have some very important business to take care of."

"Ok, Mommy. I'm sorry." Adam said, frowning. Tess didn't even notice the hurt in her son's eyes as he went back to the VCR and popped in a Barney video. He went back to drawing a picture with crayons. It was of a little boy holding hands with a man. They both had brown eyes and brown hair. There was also another woman in the picture he drew, a woman with long brown hair. She was a lot smaller than the man and was holding the little boy's other hand. Adam drew little red hearts between the hands. Over the stick figure man was the word "Daddy", over the little boy was "Adam-Michael", and over the woman was "Daddy's girlfriend". He smiled as he drew a sun, and grass, and the horse his mom had promised him and he had never received.

When it finally dawned on her that her son was hurting, Tess walked over to the living room where he was coloring. Her eyes welled up with tears when she saw the drawing of a girl with long brown hair holding hands with the little boy in the picture. "Adam..." She said, breathlessly.

"Yes, Mommy."

"Who is that?" She asked, pointing her finger to the dark-haired woman in the picture. She swallowed in anticipation, knowing exactly what her son would say.

"That's Daddy's girlfriend. The one holding hands with him at the airport that day. She was nice."

"Nice, Adam? She barely spoke to you!" Tess said, grabbing the picture from her son. "You are never to speak of her again, do you hear me? She is an evil, evil woman! She is keeping you from your Daddy!"

Adam's eyes welled with tears. "Mommy, why are you yelling at me?" His bottom lip quivered. "I don't want to live with you anymore. I want to live with my Daddy." He said, turning over his box of crayons and running into his room, slamming the door behind him.