"That's Chelsea," he explained, watching her spring across the back yard. "Someone abandoned her, so I adopted her."

"She's cute," Liz said, wondering when the dog would come scampering back into the condo. She took the opportunity to look around the place - the furniture was southwestern and there was a large cactus in one corner. The living room was spacious with a stone fireplace on one wall. She could see into the kitchen, which was done entirely in warm greens and tans.

Max had moved to the stereo and was flipping through CDs. He shrugged off his leather jacket, which fell to the floor with a thud. Liz caught her breath, remembering when she'd peeled a similar jacket off him herself. Max put a CD in the player, then turned to her and gestured to the sofa.

"Please, sit." He moved for the kitchen. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Oh, what do you have?" Liz asked as she sunk onto the couch. It seemed to envelop her, surrounding her. It was a comfortable feeling.

Max opened the refrigerator. "I have soda, water, ice tea, some wine - "

"Wine?"

Max looked around the corner. "For my guests," he explained, a smile on his face. "I don't tie one on too often. I'd probably wake up with a green dog or something."

Liz laughed. "Okay, I'll try the wine."

He poured her a glass, retrieved a glass of mineral water for himself and returned to the living room. He sat beside her on the couch, nearly disappearing in the cushions. Letting out a definite I'm-at-home groan, he kicked off his shoes and stretched.

Liz took a sip of the wine and enjoyed the immediate tingle in her fingers. "Mmm, nice choice, Mr. Evans."

Max laughed. "Thanks. I'll have to take your word for it." He met her gaze for a long moment and Liz could feel her stomach start to flip flop. It turned over completely when he reached over and stroked a lock of her hair. She swallowed hard, never breaking their gaze.

"Why don't you show me the rest of the place?" she asked, an embarrassed smile on her face.

Max almost looked disappointed. "Okay." He took her glass and put it on the coffee table with his. Then he took her small hand in his and led her up the spiral staircase. "These are the stairs," he joked. When they reached the top, he gestured toward a closed door. "Spare room - Kelsey sleeps there when she stays with me. Bathroom. Linen closet," he rattled off the doors as they passed them. "Stairway to the attic…my room."

Max turned the doorknob and opened the door to his bedroom. He snapped his fingers and the light beside the bed began to glow. Liz laughed in spite of herself - she'd spent so many years with people who didn't have powers she'd forgotten what it was like. The room contrasted with everything else in the house - there was no southwestern theme here. The bed was black wrought iron, the bedding all white. The carpet was also white, and the nightstands were glass and iron. There was a glass and iron shelf against one wall - it held many framed pictures and kept the room from feeling cold as a result of all of the metal and glass. Above the bed hung an abstract portrait, and the more Liz looked at it, the more she saw herself in it. Max caught her gaze.

"Michael," he explained. "Quite a few years ago."

"It's interesting," Liz said, hoping her voice hadn't cracked.

Max dropped her hand and moved toward the floor-length drapes. He pulled them back to reveal sliding glass doors, which he slid open and walked out on the balcony. Liz followed him and quickly drew in her breath at the sight before her - the condo was perched atop a cliff and there was a panoramic view of Roswell below them.

"Wow," she breathed. "I've never quite seen Roswell like this."

Max smiled. "It was the selling point of the place," he explained. "You can see everything from here." He pointed toward a green dot blinking in the night. "See that? It's the UFO museum."

"Get out."

"And right across the street is the Crashdown."

"Wow."

Max was leaning on the railing, looking intently at her. She met his glaze, felt a little twinge of discomfort and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"You have a lovely place, Max."

"Thank you." He hesitated, then touched her cheek, so lightly she wasn't sure he'd even made contact. "Will you stay?"

He hadn't said can you, or do you want to, but will you - like the decision was entirely hers. Like she had complete control of the outcome of the evening, and it wasn't a matter of being able to but rather being willing.

"Max, I don't know…"

He stood up, touching her hair with his other hand. "I don't expect anything, Liz. I couldn't ask anything of you. I just want you to stay, to be with me. I'm not expecting…sex, if that's what you're worried about. I couldn't do that to you right now." He put his hands around her waist and kissed her gently on the forehead. "So, will you stay with me tonight? Can I just hold you and enjoy having you here?"

Liz swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. She didn't think she'd ever wanted anything more in her life. She nodded.

Max smiled, his smile the same one that had melted her so many years before. "Good. Thank you." He gestured to the padded patio furniture. "Why don't you have a seat? I'll go downstairs and get our drinks." _____________________________________________________________________

In the morning, Liz awoke with Max's strong arm around her waist. She could tell he was still sleeping by the steady, slow rhythm of his breathing, which she felt on the back of her neck. Remembering where she was, she felt her heart start to beat a little faster in her chest. She was in Max Evans's bed, she'd spent the night. She felt a dull ache in her head from the wine she'd consumed the night before. They hadn't - had they?

No, they hadn't. She let out a sigh, grateful she hadn't drank too much and then maybe they would have done something. She shifted her weight - Max stopped mid-inhale and opened his eyes. He blinked, squinted against the morning light, then a smile creased his features. Wordlessly, he rolled onto his back and pushed her head down onto his chest, his hand stroking her hair. His other arm came around to encircle her in his strong embrace. Liz could feel the rough fabric of his undershirt against her cheek, could hear the slow, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. The proximity of their bodies was doing nothing to slow her pounding heart. Surely he must feel that? She swallowed.

Max opened his eyes and looked down at her. He could feel her heart beating frantically against his ribs and wondered if she was frightened. Maybe she was having regrets about staying. Maybe he should let her go. He moved the hand that was touching her hair and she lifted her head to look at him. He gulped - it wasn't fear he saw in those dark eyes. Suddenly his heart started to pound a little harder. He felt like he was running downhill - getting to the bottom was going to happen eventually and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Liz slid out from under this arm, her feet dropping to the floor. She reached out her hand for him, which he took without question. She led him to the bathroom, where they both silently brushed their teeth. Liz turned around and turned on the shower, placed her hand under the spray to test the temperature. Then she turned to Max, who was looking at her questioningly, and kissed him for the first time in 15 years.

Liz nearly collapsed from the immediate connection - it had been so long. Max's strong arms held her up as he deepened their kiss. He could feel the pain in her head, and with one wave of his hand she was relieved. Liz moaned her gratitude and moved them toward the shower. Her hands found the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Then his boxers were on the floor as well. She pulled the T-shirt she'd borrowed over her head and let it drop on top of his clothes. Max grabbed the side of her panties and ripped them from her body. Liz gasped, then leaned in to kiss him again. He swept her into his arms and stepped into the shower with her.

Later they lay above the covers on Max's bed. Liz was curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. He had an arm around her waist, a pillow under one of his legs. He let out a sigh and Liz looked up at him.

"Good morning," he said and they both laughed. Those were the first words either of them had spoken.

"Good morning," Liz replied. "Very good morning."

Max stroked a strand of her hair, wishing she hadn't cut it from the long locks of her youth. "I've missed you," he said simply.

She nodded. "Me, too."

Max suddenly looked sad and he stopped playing with her hair.

"Max, what's wrong?" Liz asked gently.

He shrugged. "I want to be with you."

"Okay."

"I don't mean just today…I mean always."

Liz rolled over onto her stomach and sat up on her elbows. "What do you mean, Max?"

He tried to gauge what her reaction would be, then decided he might was well go for broke. "I've wasted so much time in asking you this, Liz. Now I have my opportunity and I need to take it. You don't have to answer me right away, but I want you to give it some thought." He kissed her gently on the forehead. "I want to live my life with you. If you don't want to get married, I'll understand. If you do want to get married, I'm more than willing. I love you, Liz, I've always loved you."

Liz was speechless. Just three days ago she'd boarded a plane with more than just a little apprehension. Now she was naked, in bed with the person she was most apprehensive about seeing - and he'd just asked her to marry him, more or less.

Max read her expression, felt his heart sink. "Like I said, you think about it. No need to answer right away."

"There's so many things to think about," Liz answered. "I mean, where would we live? You're established here, I'm established in South Dakota…" Her voice trailed off as she realized her life in South Dakota was pretty much empty. She met Max's gaze, gave a little smile. "We'll figure it out."

Max's eyes flashed to hers. "What?"

"Those are just details. It's just geography. We'll figure all of that crap out." Her expression fell tender as she planted a kiss on his bare chest. "You see, I love you too, Max. I've always loved you."