Normally unselfish Liz Evans was having another hormonal breakdown and if Maria didn’t fear for her life, she would have laughed hysterically. Liz was acting so… NOT Liz. Now Liz was punching the poor pillow in what Maria suspected was an effort to get back at Max for leaving her here. Poor guy, he would really need all his Prince Charming qualities to see through this pregnancy! Alex was off with Michael, "scoping out" the palace, while Isabel was working on what everyone will be wearing during the function.

By mid-afternoon, Max had met a dizzying number of officials from the four planets, all of who immediately wanted him to hear their side of the story. He had politely asked all of them to wait until the talks start for real.

They had still not gotten word from James about who Tess was seeing. James had been instructed to stay glued to Liz’s side at any moment that Max was not with her, so he had posted two other men to continue monitoring Tess’ movements. She had not left her rooms all day and the men watching her had orders not to let her attend the function.

When Max got back to the suite, he found his wife in his sister’s room, being fitted for an Antarian evening dress. There really was no such thing, but Isabel had decreed that she was not going to the function in the normal top, skirt and robe. So she was "tweaking" their traditional garbs a little.

He watched them in silence from the doorway for a moment, smiling as he felt Liz’s joy at his presence. Isabel would not let her turn around, though, so he walked closer and kissed Liz’s neck. "Hey."

"Max!" Isabel said in irritation. "Don’t get in my way."

"Hi Max," Liz answered. "How was your day?" She sounded worried. "Did all the meetings go okay?"

Completely ignoring Isabel’s warning, he stepped closer until he was against Liz’s back and encircled her waist with his arms. "It was fine. How was yours?"

"Ugh, I was really sick this morning, but other than that, nothing to report."

"Max Evans, get out of this room!"

Isabel was glaring at him now and Max sighed before kissing Liz’s cheek. "See you in a little bit."

He left and found Michael and Maria on their way out to the balcony. "Hey. Would you two mind if I just went in your room for a while? It was my room when we were… here before."

Maria immediately looked alarmed. "Are you sure you should do it now? What if—"

"I’ll be fine, Maria, don’t worry."

"Maxwell—"

"I’ll be fine. Don’t be too long outside, we don’t want to be late for the first intergalactic party on our honor!" He gave them a small smile and waited till they had gone out before entering their rooms.

He braced himself for the images that would assail him, but none came. Curious, he stepped further into the lounge and walked over to the bedroom. His bedroom. A flash of familiarity washed over him as his hand pressed against the door.

His heart was starting to pound. What would he remember when he got inside? He was so afraid that it would be something that would be horrible to Liz. Taking a deep breath, he slowly stepped inside, his eyes finding the wide bed immediately. He had known exactly where it was in the room!

The dull ache in his temples was back, but not nearly as intense as last night. He gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed. The rush of images nearly knocked him to the floor. It was Liz. Liz everywhere. Liz in the sun, in the moonlight, in the dark. Liz outside, in a ballroom, in a space ship, in this room. Max fell backwards onto the bed, trying to catch his breath and calm his heart rate. He felt a desperate longing as he watched her visage floating across his mind’s eye. She was smiling at him, laughing at him, looking at him seriously. Looking at him with passion in her big doe eyes. Shani. She was always just out of his reach, and he felt his urgency increase. He needed to get a hold of her, make sure she could never just leave. Need crashed over him. "Don’t leave me, I need you." His voice sounded strained and hoarse in the silence of the room. "Please, she means nothing to me…"

Cool hands cupped his face and he felt the sweetest relief. It lifted his body on a swell of pure gratitude as he finally managed to grab onto her and hold her to him. "You mean everything to me." It was mumbled into her hair, the silky tresses smelling so wonderfully familiar. He was shuddering in reaction, clinging to her as if she would disappear into thin air if he allowed even a millimeter of air between them.

"Max?"

The soft question invaded his churning mind, smoothing it over with a gentle touch. "Oh God, I thought you had left me! My Shani." He gripped her hair in his fist, pressing her face into his neck as his other hand swept down her back to urge her body into closer contact with his. "I have to do this. Please understand. I hate this… She’s not you."

Holding him tightly, Liz tried to make sense out of all the things that he was muttering. So far, all she knew was that he seemed to believe that she had left him in his previous life.

"She’s not you," he repeated in a defeated voice. "What can I tell them? They’ve never seen you! I can’t explain how I feel to them. This feeling inside me… it’s not something our people know." He pressed his mouth against her temple. "You taste so sweet. How did I know this is what you would taste like? It scares me."

Inside his mind, Liz was sitting and listening to him intently, her head tilted to the side slightly. She had never looked more beautiful to him. But her eyes were filling with tears, causing a sharp stabbing pain in his heart. "Don’t cry. She’s not you. She can never be you, but… I don’t know what to do!"

"You have to follow your destiny."

The soft words made him reel in shock. "Don’t ask me to give you up, please." She was disappearing in front of his eyes. "Please…"

It was a frantic sob. It was too much for Liz. Max was literally coming apart emotionally, she felt his despair and loneliness as if it were her own.

"Max!" She pulled her head back so she could press her lips against his. "Max, look at me."

She was kissing him! Confusion assailed him as he felt her warm mouth move over his. She was kissing him! His hands found her face as he opened his mouth, kissing her back. It was a bruising kiss. One that spoke of so many emotions. I love you, she told him over and over through their connection. I’ll never leave again. He couldn’t get enough of her lips. To finally be able to kiss her like this was overwhelming and glorious. Their tongues mated and he had a sudden vivid picture of them tangled together on a bed, bodies striving for the closest contact possible between two people. He trembled at how right it felt. "Liz…" His eyes blinked open at the name. Liz?

Reality came back with a rush. Max broke away from Liz, gentling his embrace as he stared at her in shock. Her mouth was puffy and red from his hard kiss and her hair was in total disarray. "Liz?" He smoothed a trembling hand over her cheek and jaw.

"You were remembering things, but you were very upset, so I came closer and-and you grabbed me."

Comprehension was finally setting in. He remembered sitting down on the bed and then the visions had hit him. He sat up carefully, lifting Liz to sit on his lap. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Are you okay? I was scared that you wouldn’t… come back from wherever you went."

"Yeah. I… It was… upsetting."

"What did you see?"

"You again. You everywhere. I was trying to explain to you about marrying Tess, I think. You were crying and you told me to follow my destiny. Then you… disappeared." His tortured gaze found hers. "It felt like part of me was ripped out."

"I’m sorry, Max. I’ll never leave again. I promise." She leaned her forehead against his and repeated her vow. "I promise."

"I don’t understand this. How could I know you, be in love with you? You are human. Antarians didn’t know love."

"They must have known it at one stage, they have a word for ‘beloved’" she pointed out.

"Yeah." Max’s forehead was crinkled in thought. Why did he keep seeing Liz alone in these memories? And why had they both been saying things they had said to each other in this life of his on earth? Nothing about this made sense.

"We should go get dressed for the ball," Liz reminded him gently. "Will you be okay to go?"

He nodded and lifted her to her feet so he could stand up. He caught her hand when she turned away to go. "Liz, I-I just want to say thank you. For making this life of mine so perfect. I have never had an unhappy day since we got together." He kissed her lightly.

Smiling up at him, Liz countered: "Well, I don’t have a previous life that I know of to relate this one to, but I can honestly say that I won’t need another one to find happiness. I love you, Max Evans."

She gasped when he swung her up in his arms unexpectedly. "Max! What are you doing?"

"I need to take a shower. And I need for you to take it with me." A short and simple answer, hiding so much more.

"Only if I can work the soap buttons," she grinned up at him impishly.

They had reached the hallway, causing everyone to stop and stare at them.

"Oh crap, we are SO going to be late," Alex exclaimed after them. "Do you not fear the wrath of Princess Isabel? Are you insane? Don’t DO this, Max! I beg of you! For the sake of humanity… err, Antarianity." His dramatic antics had everyone laughing loudly.