The connection between them was wide open, and it was impossible to tell where her hunger ended and Max's began. Their passion still running high from their daring and the fear of almost being found out, they desperately tried to fulfill the demand it was making of them with the voraciousness of their kiss.

Liz was making whimpering sounds of need deep in her throat, and they fired his intensity even more, making him burn for something more than their kisses could seem provide. His mouth never leaving hers, Max twisted around so that he could move fully onto the bed, climbing over to lie down between her legs with a creak of the bedsprings.

As he laid his body fully atop hers, Liz moaned softly at the contact and wrapped her arms around him to pull him more firmly against her. One of her hands found its way up underneath his shirt and slid, with fingers splayed, across the heated skin of his bare back, taking delight in the sleek muscles that rippled there. A simmering heat set up a slow boil at the center of her being and sent a pleasurable buzz to her brain that drew her even further into a world of sensuality where only she and Max existed.

Max just couldn't seem to get close enough to her. Her thoughts and emotions were flooding his senses, entangling with his until he couldn't separate the two, yet, still it wasn't enough. His body craved more.

Being careful not to crush her, he pressed up tightly against her, trying to align their bodies until every curve of hers found its perfect resting place against each hollow and plane of his. He couldn't even begin to think about the intimate proximity of her hips to his right now, or he would completely lose the tenuous grasp on his self-control that he was barely managing to hang on to. Liz wasn't helping his cause one bit with her sinuous movements beneath him, and when she gently thrust her hips up against his, he tore his lips from hers and gasped her name sharply.

In a desperate bid for sanity, he wrapped his hands firmly around her tiny waist to halt her movements and begged raggedly, "Liz, please?"

Responding to the strain in his voice, Liz obediently fell still, but she refused to relinquish his lips, and pulled them back down to hers demandingly. She echoed Max's desperate need to be closer, and she'd been moving against him unconsciously in pursuit of a deeper contact. Nothing seemed to be enough. She wished she could just crawl right up inside him and BE him.

The buzz of pleasure seemed to hum throughout her entire body now, making her anxious for some unknown something, and she could feel an answering vibration coming from deep within Max's body. Somewhere in the back of her mind she vaguely recognized it as the charging of their energy, but it didn't fully register amidst all the other sensations she was engrossed in.

Their lips moved against each other urgently as Max's hands wandered restlessly over her body. They were quickly reaching a dangerous precipice that they shouldn't risk falling from when images suddenly began pouring in through their connection, adding yet another form of stimulation to their already overheated senses.

***Flash***

Max and Isabel getting off the bus on the first day of school and seeing Liz across the playground.

***Flash***

Max reaching for her hand in the cave where they first met Riverdog, and Liz trustingly placing her own hand in his after Riverdog's warning to be sure that Max deserved her trust.

***Flash***

The kiss onstage at the end of the blind date with Doug Shellow, where Liz received flashes from Max in this way for the first time.

***Flash***

Standing on the guardrail of the bridge as Pierce's men close in on them. Their lips meeting in a last desperate kiss before making the jump into the dark river below.

***Flash***

A million stars shining brightly overhead as they lay together intimately on the desert floor the night they found the orb. Sexual anticipation running high as they kiss hungrily, their intention of making love foremost in their minds.

***Flash***

The darkness of infinite space all around as a distant, bright planet comes into view and moves closer and closer...

***Flash***

Two figures without substance, pale and glowing amidst a deep purple mist. Merging into one in a blinding flash of light and rippling ecstasy, sending a shockwave of euphoric heat radiating outward.

Bodies jolting, their lips ripped away from each other with breathless sounds of startlement. Panting for breath, they looked into each other's eyes searchingly.

"What was that?" Liz gasped. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah. I mean.. I guess I did. What did you see?"

Her eyes huge and questioning, Liz answered, "Two glowing.. uh, f-forms, and they.. came together- and just melded into one."

He nodded. "Yeah. I saw that, too."

They looked at each other silently for a long moment, hearts pounding.

The shockwave of feeling that had come from that last flash had felt as though it had made an actual physical impact with her body. That, as well as the abrupt halt it had brought to their lovemaking, left Liz trembling with an ache that came from somewhere deep inside, and had her clutching the back of Max's shirt tightly in both hands, while she tried to pull in deep, steadying gulps of air.

Feeling the tremors of her body, Max's eyes darkened with concern. He lifted his weight off her immediately, bracing himself on his forearms, and cradled her head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded and said, "I-I'm fine. But- could you just.. hold me.. for a little bit?"

He leaned down to place a tender kiss upon her temple, and replied, "Of course I can."

Moving to the side of the bed, he lay down on his back and wrapped his arms tightly around her small form, pulling her in close to his side. Liz rolled to her hip beside him, and after lifting her head to rest on his shoulder, she threw her arm around his waist, and clung to him tightly.

Max rested his lips against the top of her head, and moved one hand slowly up and down her arm in a soothing motion to try and calm her shivers, and they lay there quietly for a moment.

When they'd caught their breath, Liz asked shakily, "Wh-what was that, Max? In the flash. Do you know?"

Max shook his head a little. "I'm not sure. But- did you feel it? When they.. came together?"

"Yeah," she answered quietly. "I've never felt anything like it before. It was like.. the most pure form of pleasure I could ever imagine." She hesitated, then asked, "Do you- do you think that's how.. your people, um- you know, m-make love?"

"I was wondering the same thing. But I don't see how that would be possible if they have physical bodies. I mean, one of them just.. disappeared inside the other one."

Liz shuddered lightly. She felt disturbed by the strange vision, but was unsure why, since it had felt as though she were witnessing a most beautiful and reverent act. One that had induced such feelings of pure bliss that she was still shaking from its effects.

"Well, what were they doing, then? And where did that flash come from? We've never seen the same vision before, and the first time we do, it's something from.. your home. What does that mean, Max?"

"I don't know," he answered absently, frowning in concern. Her trembling hadn't lessened. If anything, it had grown more pronounced, and now her teeth were even chattering slightly. "Liz, are you alright?"

"I don't know what's wrong. I can't seem to stop shaking. It's just.. reaction, I guess."

Max's arms tightened around her, and he began rubbing her arm a little more briskly. "This was too much for you after everything you've been through today. I'm sorry, Liz," he said, his voice full of self-reproach.

"It's okay. I'll be fine, Max, r-really, I just--" she stirred restlessly, and her knee lifted to rest her leg atop his, where it brushed against his jeans fitfully. "I feel k-kind of.. on edge."

Her hand began to clench and open convulsively on a handful of his t-shirt, and she couldn't seem to control the small agitated movements she was making against him.

"Liz, you're really starting to scare me," Max said, his voice sharp with worry. He craned his head around to see her better, and brushed her hair away from her cheek. His hand halted in mid-motion as he encountered the heat of her skin. "You're burning up! Liz, what's happening?"

"I-I don't know," she replied uncertainly, teeth chattering. She was beginning to get a little scared, herself. Something was going on inside her, and she was afraid it might have something to do with her new 'power'. "Max, d-did you feel our energy doing something earlier, w-when we were...you know, k-kissing?"

"What? Liz, we need to find out what's happening to you right now."

"No. I know. But, I think it-it feels kinda like it did earlier today w-when Michael and I were doing the energy b-blast. You know? Like energy built up inside that I need- need to get rid of. And I thought I might have felt our energy- um, doing.. something while we were kissing. Did you f-feel it?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. I just wasn't paying that much attention to it. Do you think that's what this is?"

"I'm not sure. But I- I think so."

She didn't feel exactly the same as she had when her and Michael's energy had been building inside her. This energy didn't seem to be growing any bigger, it just seemed to seethe at her center, as if charged up for readiness with nowhere to go. Trying to contain the simmering heat of it was making her skin feel too tight, and made her anxious to just get rid of it, the same way it had with Michael.

With a soundless whimper of distress, Liz sat up, and said, "Max, I have to let it out. I- I can't stand it!"

Max sat up as well, and moved his hand to cover hers where it was gripping the bedspread. He was extremely relieved at finding an explanation for her behavior, and that it wasn't anything too serious. It took away his sense of urgency and helplessness to know that this was something they could easily take care of, and he set about reassuring her, as well.

Rubbing her hand soothingly, he said, "Listen, Liz. If all this is is unspent energy, you don't have to use it, you just need to learn how to absorb it back into your body. This used to happen to me and Isabel when we were kids and we were first learning to use our powers. We'd gather the energy to use it on something, and then get interrupted by one thing or another, and it would just sit there, charged and waiting."

Liz nodded, and in a strained voice, asked, "Well, how do I do that? Absorb it back?"

Lifting his hand to her hair, he said, "You just need to relax. And focus on pulling it back."

"Max! I can't relax. It- it's making me crazy!"

She felt as though her entire body were vibrating with a palpable electric hum, and she could barely think through it. She could only worry that the energy would escape somehow.

His thumb brushed her cheek and he said softly, "Shh. It'll be okay. C'mere."

He pushed back until he was resting against the headboard of the bed, and pulled her over to sit between his legs with her back to his chest. Wrapping one arm tightly around her waist, he used his other hand to press her head back to rest on his shoulder, then brushed her hair back from her forehead in repetitive calming strokes.

Putting his lips against her ear, he said softly, "Now close your eyes and take deep breaths."

Liz obeyed and let the deep, husky sound of his voice lull her as he further instructed her. "Focus on where your energy is gathered, and on not letting it control you. [b]You[/b] control [b]it[/b], Liz. It's something your body created and it's under your control. Now, pull it back from your center and force it to dissolve. Just let it go and imagine it all flowing away."

Max fell silent to allow her to concentrate on her task, and continued to stroke her hair. After several long moments, Liz's trembling finally ceased. She took a deep cleansing breath that seemed to come from her toes and let it out slowly.

"Better?" Max asked quietly.

"Much," she whispered. "Thank you."

Max nodded and rested his cheek against the side of her head, and slid his other arm around her waist to join its mate. Moving her arms to rest atop his, Liz stroked his forearm lovingly with one hand, and they stayed that way for a few moments, relieved that the mini-crisis had passed.

Max's arms tightened around her, and he said semi-teasingly, "I don't know if my heart can take another scare from you today. How about we just stay like this for the rest of the day?"

Her own arms tightened on his, and said, "That's fine by me. You know, there's food right outside the door in case we get hungry." She grinned up at him. "And if we stayed in here long enough, Maria might even bring us dinner, too."

Max's lips quirked and he said, "Our own personal form of room service, huh? Think she'd comply with the 'Do Not Disturb' sign this time?"

Liz wrinkled her nose. "I doubt it. Maria takes her job pretty seriously." His brows rose in question, and she said, "You know, best friend, mother hen.. defender of my virtue."

He laughed, then said wryly, "She has good instincts. Your virtue might have been in pretty serious danger if we'd gone on much longer."

"Yeah, you're right. I guess things were getting.. kinda out of hand, huh?"

Max grew serious, and met her eyes. "Yeah. We, uh- weren't exactly taking things slow."

She bit her lip in remorse as she realized he was right. They weren't being careful at all. They'd undoubtedly been heading down the same path they'd been on before Future Max showed up. All it had taken was a steamy once-over from Max and all that end-of-the-world stuff had completely flown from her head.

"You're right," she conceded. "I guess staying in bed like this isn't a very smart move. Maybe we should, um.. get out of here."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Do you want to go take a drive or something?"

Happy that he didn't intend to go home just yet, Liz quickly agreed.

"Let me just go change real quick."

Max watched as she hopped up off the bed, and moved around the room quickly, gathering up clothes to change into, then said, "Liz?"

She stopped her bustling movements and looked at him in question.

His lips turned up in a half smile, and he requested, "Just don't wear that shirt, okay? And wear lots and lots of layers."