However, this night was unlike any other. It was the end of Liz Parker's life. The end of the world. She could distinguish the sweet fragrance of the night air from the spiciness of the New Mexico desert. Liz would remember the sights and sounds, of the clear November evening, for the rest of her life. Every image was burned into her memory. During the following months, Liz would play them back like a slide show, and wonder what she could have done differently. Presently, she was dancing beside the love of her life. On her balcony, they basked in the soft light from her bedroom window. They were dancing the dance of a lifetime...her wedding dance. It was the last gift Max could give her before leaving. Disappearing, and leaving her once again, all alone.

The breeze was turning colder. It threaded itself through Max's long hair, chilling Liz's wet cheeks at the same time. Max's lengthy hair, reminded Liz precisely who she was clinging to. This Max was stronger, older...he had traveled from fourteen years in the future. Her younger Max, was wandering around aimlessly in the dark. He believed she no longer loved him. He actually thought Liz was revolted at the sight of him. This notion, sent still more loneliness and anguish corcing through her body. Silvery tears kept streaming down her cheeks as she opened her eyes and stared straight into those familiar brown pools.

**They are both still Max. My Max. ** Liz realized. She let the love that this Max was sending her wrap itself around her broken body. His love flowed through his being and continued into hers. He had a sad smile on his beautiful face. His eyes were filled with a mixture of longing and passion. Liz noticed that hidden in the depths of his soulful eyes, was a newfound maturity. Fourteen years of life had left their mark on this older Max Evans.

He let her slender hand slip from his as he twirled her around one last time. Liz's heart was full with love, love that was exclusively for Max. While she gracefully spun herself in circles, the breeze snaked it's way to her, caressing her body. It seemed to be saying goodbye. And then she knew. He was gone. Liz thought she couldn't possibly feel anymore pain, but a fresh wave of grief washed over her. All at once she recognized, she was now very, very alone. Her twirling stopped as she sank to the ground, sobs racking her fragile frame.

"Goodbye, Max..." she choked out in a whisper. It was then, that her heart completely shattered. Sending its shards everywhere, sharp like glass and slicing with pain. She lay curled up on the cold stone. The breeze breathed around her emitting a low moan. It seemed to be grieving alongside Liz, sharing her sorrow.

Liz was not thinking logically. All she could comprehend, was the constant torment of living without Max. Living without his love. A part of her realized she did the right thing. She saved the world. By giving up Max, she had allowed the future to change.

**It's what Max would have wanted.**

However, this part of her was very small. At the moment, all she could register was her sense of loss. So much had been taken from her. Liz Parker would never make love to Max Evans. They wouldn't spend their lives together (as she had so often dreamed). Their ability to connect, their love, their joy, meant nothing. She would never be fully complete again. She had lost her other half, as if her body had be severed in two. Each moment, each memory the older Max experienced, was now stripped from her future. A future which appeared so bleak and lonely.

**How will I live without him? I need him...I love him...I would die for him. He is the center of my being. He is home. He's the reason I'm still alive. He's my reason for living.**

These torturous questions repeated themselves over and over inside Liz's mind. Eventually, Liz became aware that she was miserably cold and still had things to do. But for the first time, she didn't care. She simply let go. Overcome by her raging emotions, she cried herself into a fitful sleep. If someone were to look down upon the small balcony above the Crashdown, they would have seen a crumpled form, resting on the ground. Her brown hair sprawled out around her. While she slept, she persistently called for someone with great urgency. Her voice raw and desperate. Clearly unable to find this person, tears began to roll down her pale cheeks.