She didn't dare say it out loud because she didn't want to raise any questions. Max sat tight lipped, looking at the doctor in disbelief. Liz closed her eyes and took deep breaths, inhaling them at a rapid rate. She felt like she was hyperventilating; the room was suddenly too small to accommodate them.

There were three of the in the room: Liz, Max, and the doctor. Liz felt a rough hand on her shoulder and when she opened her eyes she saw Max looking deeply into her eyes. She gave him a small smile and turned back to the doctor.

"Are you alright?" Max's concern touched Liz deeply, and she nodded her head. She didn't trust her voice. The doctor cleared his throat before he spoke.

"I was just telling Max that we aren't going to run any tests. He's been through enough all ready, and the virus doesn't seem to be anything very serious." Liz sat, staring at him in awe.

"Okay, I know what's going to happen now, but I have to ask, what were you doing with Alex?"

"You mean Alex Whitman?" She nodded. "He's my nephew. We were just talking. Arguing is more like it. We never did get along." Liz just stared at him as relief flooded through her chest. "Well, you best be going. I have other patients to attend to. Mr. Evans, I hope that I will never see you in here again." He shook Max's hand and smiled. Max smiled back at him.

"Me too."

******

Liz burst out of the hospital in a rush of joy. "No way did that just happen!" she panted to the ecstatic Max beside her. He smiled at her as he lifted her up off the ground and swung her around in the air. She laughed at his antics until she could no longer see anything but the swirling colors of the world around her.

"Put me down," she gasped, trying to regain her train of thought. Max lowered her to the ground obediently and let her lean against him until she regained her sense of balance. She smiled at him. "That is why the laws of gravity are a good thing." He just laughed as he shook his head.

The sudden honk of a car horn made them both turn around. There, in the jeep, sat Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Alex, all looking excited.

"Are you guys okay?" Maria was the first one to spit out the words. Liz nodded as she embraced her. Michael climbed out of the jeep behind Maria and turned to Max.

"Good to see your alive buddy." He gave Max a long hug, as if to make sure he was really real. Isabel started to cry in the driver's seat.

"My God, Max! You scared me to death! I didn't think I'd ever get to see you alive again!" She shook of Alex's arm as he tried to comfort her. Max started to walk towards her, but the look on Isabel's face stopped him. "Why did you have to be so stupid? Why? You almost died Max! What would I have done without you? You're my brother, and I don't know how I would have survived without you here." She stumbled out of the car and threw herself into her brother's arm, crying openly against his chest.

Liz just watched in the background at the scene, fear clutching her chest. Isabel was right. Max had almost died. Like Isabel, Liz didn't know what she would do if Max died, if her left her on earth all alone. Of course, there would come a day when he would have to leave her.

Liz forced the thought out of her mind. All that matters is that Max is okay, she told herself. That's all that matters now.

*********

"What are you doing here?" Liz's voice was filled with shock as Max approached. Max laughed.

"After all the times I've told Izzy not to dreamwalk, look at what I'm doing." Liz smiled at Max, unsure if it was a dream or reality. "This is your dream Liz. I'm merely a part of it." Liz stared at him in wonder. Could he read her mind? "No, I can't." Max laughed at her bewildered expression. "Your facial expressions. I swear Liz, you're easier to read than a large print book!" He was teasing her, and Liz laughed along with him. She loved the sound of his laugh. It was deep, quiet, and sexy.

Liz's heart thudded as Max moved closer to her, close enough so she could feel his breath on her cheek, the touch of his flannel shirt against her bare arms, the smell of his aftershave. Liz looked up into his eyes as her pulse quickened and her breathing became short. He leaned down and covered her mouth with his.

Liz sighed in contentment as the memory of their first kiss floated back to her. That had been wonderful. But she knew that there were many more to come. After all, a first kiss had to have its sequels.