Max was silent now, but he was staring at her, drinking her in through his dark eyes. He looked at her hungrily, desperately, as if he didn’t think he would ever see her again. It scared her to think about it. She’d gone for ten years without Max Evans, but now that she’d seen him again she couldn’t imagine him leaving.

“I can’t stay,” he said.

“I know,” Liz said. It was the only thing she could think to say. “Max, what if you don’t come back?”

“It doesn’t mean I don’t love you,” he said. “Don’t ever think that.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

There was a flash of light from outside the window. “They’re waiting for me,” he said.

“Don’t go yet,” she pleaded. She needed just a few more minutes, a few more seconds, just as long as he didn’t leave just yet. She couldn’t bear the thought of him walking away. “How will you find me?”

He smiled. “I found you here, didn’t I? I’ll find you, Liz Parker. No matter where you go, I’ll find you.”

He began to walk past her, to the door. “Wait,” she cried. “You can’t go yet.” He turned to face her, and from his eyes she could see that he knew exactly what she was thinking. She spoke anyway. “I can’t just let you go. I can’t lose you forever.”

His eyes filled with kindness and understanding. “I know. Don’t worry, I can still come to you…in your dreams. When you go to bed, when you close your eyes and fall asleep, that’s when we’ll be together again. At least until I come back.”

He must have seen the doubt in her eyes because he took her hand and led her over to the bed. She laid down, never taking her eyes from his. He pulled the covers tenderly over her and put his hand on her cheek. Liz didn’t think it would be possible to sleep, not after all that had happened. But then he bent down to kiss her. Somewhere inside her, along with the exhilaration and thrill of being near him she was suddenly overcome by a wave of drowsiness. Before his lips had left hers she’d drifted off, and in the cloudy space she’d entered, she was relieved to find she wasn’t alone.

*****************

Waking had never been so empty before. Liz had always enjoyed coming back from sleep slowly, gradually letting awareness sink in, lounging among the softness of her sheets until she finally got to her feet. Not today. When she opened her eyes she didn’t feel anything except loneliness. She wasn’t sure if she could bear losing Max not just this once, but every single morning for possibly the rest of her life. She felt tears crowding her eyes and she wished she could just sleep forever and never come back. How things had changed, and so quickly. Yesterday at this time she’d been trying to decide how to tell Paul about SETI. Paul. She’d hardly thought of him since then. She was supposed to have dinner with him tonight. What would she say? That was a stupid question, she knew exactly what she would say, what she had to say. And somehow it didn’t seem too difficult a thing to do. Paul was forgotten in her heart now.

“I’m going to take the job,” she said to him. “I’m sorry.”