Max glanced at the clock. 4:28... he’d been lying awake for four hours. It’d been four hours he’d known that Liz was... he closed his eyes and sighed. What were they going to do? He couldn’t leave his job, his school, his life. But then again, he couldn’t leave Liz, or the baby...

He rubbed his eyes and got up. He knew Liz would be sleeping in today. He had some breakfast and watched some shows on TV until eight. He got up and took Liz’s keys and drove off.

**********

Liz woke up and looked at her clock. It showed 10:12. She stretched and headed to Max’s room. When she opened the door, she realized he was gone. She ran over to the window and looked out. Her car was gone. So was his stuff... Liz felt the tears well up in her eyes. He’d left her. She told him and he’d left her.

The pain was almost too big to handle. She felt the hurt come from her heart, then it traveled down all the way to her toes. Her whole body ached. She walked over to the bed and threw herself on it. “How could he have left me?” She felt the tears coming down her cheeks.

She lay there for a few minutes, then she heard a honk come from the parking lot. She wiped her tears and walked over to the window and saw Max.

Filled with relief, she ran down and hugged Max tightly. They stood there, enjoying the moment. “Where were you, Max?” Her voice started to crack and she again started crying. “I... I was worried.... I thought you...”

“Left?” Max finished the sentence and hugged her tighter. “I wouldn’t do that, Liz. I‘d never abandon you.” He pulled away from her and wiped away her tears. He hated it when she cried. “I was out thinking. Sorry, I ran out of gas, so I had to refill the tank. I also got you something...”

Liz watched as he went to the car and pulled out what looked like a little ball of light brown fur. He handed it to her, and she realized it was a puppy; a cocker spaniel to be exact. “It’s adorable.” She looked up at him and smiled. Her smile slowly faded and a serious expression crossed her face. “I don’t want it...”

She saw the confused look on his face and quickly added “I want it to be ours. Both of ours.”

Max stroked the pup’s head and breathed a sigh of relief. “What are you going to name it?”

Liz looked at the fuzzy bundle and knew right away what she was going to name it. “True Destiny.” She could see the amused look on Max’s face and said “I know it’s cheesy, but...”

“I think it’s perfect.”

**********

“So... what are we gonna do now?” Liz finally asked what had been on both their minds since she’d told him.

Max was busy arranging all of the doggie products he’d bought that morning in her living room. He stopped and looked at her. “I could move to around here and...”

“No!” Liz quickly put in. “I don’t want your life ruined because of me.”

Max walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder. “No matter how hard you try Liz Parker, you are never going to ruin my life.” He picked up a red collar and fastened it on True Destiny, TD for short.

Liz sighed. She didn’t want Max’s whole life to change because of her. Of course, she could move to New York... but then she’d have moved colleges three times. There was only one choice left...

“Max, there’s no way we can work this out. The only possible answer is.... I get an abortion.”

Max snapped his head up and saw tears forming in her eyes again. “Liz, we can’t do that.. you know we can’t..”

Liz looked up into his eyes and whispered “It’s the only option left....”

Max closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them and turned to Liz. “It’s not. There’s an option you seemed to have missed.”

He got down on one knee and Liz looked at him through wide eyes. “When I went out today, the puppy wasn’t the only thing I bought.” He pulled out a ring from his pocket and slipped it over her finger. Perfect fit.