| "The Tempest" |
| Part 1 by Anne |
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Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell or any of the characters. I have no
affiliation with the WB television network or the author Melinda Metz. Category: Max/Liz Rating: PG-13 Authors Note: Set against the backdrop music of "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Joe Cocker. For those of you too young to know the song, it's worth investigation. This takes place after the tempest "Tess" blows through shattering our illusions about Max. Here's a chance to forgive him . . . |
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| Max Evans felt like he was waking up from a long, frighteningly real
nightmare. For the past several weeks he hadn't been able to make sense
of anything. Liz seemed to utterly despise him and avoided him every
chance she got. He couldn't even describe the pain he felt everytime he
saw her and had to face how badly he had hurt her . . . again. Sigh.
Why couldn't he have just stayed away from Tess? He knew that he loved
Liz, but something . . . Well, there was no going back. It was too late
for that now. The only thing he could do, was go see her, try to
explain, and maybe she'd stop running in the opposite direction everytime
she saw him. Maybe . . . It was a clear, cool night and Liz is on the roof with her journal and listening to the radio. She puts the journal aside without writing in it. She hadn't been able to form a single entry since the day she felt the attraction between Max and Tess. It had almost torn her apart. She hadn't been eating or sleeping well, either, and it was beginning to make itself felt. She was so tired tonight. All she wanted to do was curl up and try to fall asleep without thinking about where Max was tonight. Maybe, since she was so tired . . . On the radio, Joe Cocker's voice eases Liz into a semi-awake peacefulness. She looks up at the stars and wonders if her heart will ever stop breaking . . . I'll pack up all my cares and woes . . . Max can hear the music down on the street below Liz's rooftop. He knows she won't hear him if he calls out to her, so he just climbs up. He sees her immediately, just sitting there staring up at the stars. She looks so peaceful that he's almost sorry he came. What if she can't forgive him? What would he do then? What if he couldn't make her understand . . .? There's a light that shines . . . Max takes a deep breath and a step towards Liz. She drops her gaze from the cloudless sky and her eyes come to rest on Max's face as he's walking towards her across the roof. I'm comin' on home tonight . . . Liz doesn't even think to get up and run, because deep down, she figures this is just one of many daydreams she's had over the past few weeks. Besides, she's tired of running . . .maybe, just for tonight, it wouldn't hurt to fantasize a little . . . Bye -- Bye -- Blackbird . . . Max walks over to Liz's chair and stands there looking for all the world like he has no idea what to do now . . . Bye -- Bye -- Blackbird . . . Liz reaches up her hand and grabs his pulling him down beside her. For a hallucination, he certainly did feel real . . . Nobody seems to love her or understand it . . . Max sinks down on the chair beside her and looks to Liz like he wants to say something but has no idea where to begin . . . She reaches up and touches his cheek in invitation to form a connection with her. He's so grateful for this that he has to take a deep breath just to get control of his emotions. They make the connection easily and Liz senses all the love, and pain, and uncertainty in him. And something else, maybe despair . . . What's this? Tears . . . Were they hers or his . . . ? Maybe, both . . . I'm comin' on home tonight . . . Liz slowly realizes that this time, her daydream is reality, and she searches Max's face for some explanation, before she understands that she really doesn't need one at all. She kisses his cheeks and tastes the salt from the tears. The song is long over and Liz accepts Max for everything that he is, as well as, whatever he isn't. It really doesn't matter, because she can't stop her own heart from beating, and as long as he was here and wanted her, what else could she do? |
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