Even after everything that Maria had said, he still worried about what Liz's reaction would be. Seven years was a long time. Long enough for Liz to move on, and maybe even find someone else...

Max shook his head in an attempt to shake the thoughts as well. Maria had said there was no one; and of all the people in Liz's life who might know about this type of thing, Maria would be the person to know the most.

Max jerked his feet to a stop. A small noise had just come from inside the house. It sounded like a door closing. For a moment, he considered walking around to the side of the house to see which room was hers, but he quickly scolded himself. What was he going to do? Spy on Liz for a few months like some deranged stalker? Yeah, that would make a great impression.

It had been bad enough when Liz had seen him at the club. He hadn't meant to be so obvious. Actually, he hadn't even planned on following them to the club, but after seeing Liz for only a few moments when Maria and Alex picked her up, he couldn't stop himself. He had even followed them inside of the club and watched from afar as Liz spoke to another guy, but only for a moment. And then, to top that off, she had seen him! Max had quickly hid behind a car as soon as she spotted him, and thankfully, she hadn't saw him again.

This is ridiculous, Max told himself sternly.

He forced his feet to walk to the door. He brought his finger up to ring the bell, but jerked it down just as fast. It was too late to ring the bell. He would knock. Bringing his fist up to the door, Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and knocked softly.

Liz had just laid her head on the pillow when a soft noise echoed in the hall.

She paused a moment trying to decide whether or not the noise had been the door. The house was silent another moment and she heard the sound again. Someone was at the door.

She opened her eyes and glanced at the bright red numbers of the bedside clock. It was a little after eleven. She groaned softly and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Who would be at the door this time of night? Liz rolled her eyes and smiled as the thought of her neighbor, Mrs. Smith, standing at the door with that worried look on her face, begging Liz to help her find her kitten, Snowflake. The eccentric old woman lost her cat on average of once a week, and each time, she was sure to call on Liz to help her look for it. Not that Liz minded. She just couldn't seem to say no to anyone who needed her help, even if it was eleven o'clock at night.

Liz reached the door and stopped before opening it. "Hold on just a second," she called, turning on her heels to retrieve her bathrobe from her bedroom. If she was going to go trapsing around the yard looking for the kitten, she might as well wear more than a tank top and underwear.

She slipped the robe over her shoulders and trotted back down the hall in the dark.

Outside, Max was just about to leave when he heard Liz's soft voice from inside. He froze in mid-step. This was the moment he had been waiting for, no, counting down to for seven long, years. He turned around numbly to face the door. Looking down at himself, he groaned at his choice of clothes. He hadn't even made an attempt to look nice, but instead opted for his former most-worn outfit, cargo pants and a solid colored shirt.

Max heard a small click behind the door, and in an instant, the door was opening, and there she stood.

Liz froze as soon as she caught sight of who was at the door. It wasn't Mrs. Smith.