Author's Note: This chapter contains Adult Content.

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit." -Peter Ustinov

Part Eighteen

He'd searched for her outside of Dizzies: but she was a fast mover and was gone before he could catch her, at Maria's: ignoring her screeching and threats, at his own place: though he couldn't imagine why she would go there and he was right because she hadn't. He leaned against the wood door and took a breath, considering calling the search off for tonight. He ran a hand through his hair and briefly wondered if he should call and see where his family was before deciding against it. They were all adults and could make their way to the hotel on their own.

The last thing he wanted was to hear about how he and Liz didn't belong together.

Max sighed and looked around his quiet apartment.

His quiet, dark, empty apartment and he felt his heart clench. Took a deep breath and walked back out of the door quickly, descended the stairs, and burst out onto the street. He looked both directions, didn't really have anywhere to be or anywhere to go but he knew he had to get out of here and so he just turned in a direction and…walked.

Walked until he started to sweat, until it started to get dark, until his feet began to hurt and when he finally looked up from the pavement he came to face to face with wide glass doors with the word 'Pfizer' etched into them. He took a breath, and moved closer to the window, put his hands around his eyes so he could get a better look through the glass and saw someone sitting in the green space he'd helped to build.

There was no reason for him to believe it was her, he could barely see, but something made him push through the doors and walk into the lobby slowly.

"Hey Max," Davis, the night guard said with a smile. "I haven't seen you in a while."

He tore his away from the green space and smiled back slightly, "yeah, I've been a little busy with school and all."

"That makes sense. It's good to see you though."

Max nodded and took a breath, moved forward without a thought, like a moth to a flame. He went across the lobby and out into the yard, closing the door quietly behind him and just…looked at her. It felt like it had been ages since the last time they'd been alone.

He wanted to savor it.

He wanted to remember how she looked right at this moment when there was still hope, before anything bad was said, before one of them could break the others heart.

Again.

She looked…

"I didn't know you'd be there," she said suddenly, startling him but not turning to look at him. "I thought you'd go to a nicer place since your family was here."

He thought for a moment, "We made plans to go there before…"

"Yeah we did," she cut in snippily. "Why'd you show up if you thought I might be there?"

"Why'd you show up," he asked, mimicking her tone before he stopped, took a deep breath and a step back, trying to not let this disintegrate into a shouting match. He looked at the back of her head, and, felt himself calm down as he took a seat next to her.

She jerked slightly in surprise at his proximity and he raised his hand, intending to lay it against the ridges of her spine. He let it hang in the air for a moment before dropping it back into his lap.

He didn't have the right to touch her without permission anymore.

"Don't answer that," he amended quickly, when he heard her about to speak, "I already know."

The air felt very still, "You do?"

"The same reason I did."

She finally turned toward him slowly then, looking a little suspicious, "Why?"

"Why do you think?"

She didn't say anything and he started to get worried, looked down at his lap and asked quietly "You wanted to see me?"

She was still quiet, "That's why you went to the diner right? Because you thought I might go there?"

She moved her hair from her face, looking thoughtful, "Honestly, I just kind of wandered there without thinking about it. I remember leaving after you got your diploma and…"

"You were at my graduation?"

She stopped and he could see, even in the darkness, even in the shade provided by a tree he'd put in the ground himself, her begin to blush slightly. "I couldn't not go when I know how important it was to you."

"I wanted you to be there."

"You said you didn't."

"I lied."

She shook her head and looked away again, unconsciously twirling his ring around her finger, "You can't do this."

"What," he asked, genuinely confused. "Want to see you?"

"Yes! You can't come and see me when you've been telling me that you need space," she said loudly but somehow still quietly, "It…" she struggled to find the right words, "confuses me."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, "I was confused! I wanted to punish you and for a little while that took over everything else but that's over now." He took her shoulder and turned it until she finally turned toward him though she still wouldn't look up.

"I love you and nothing is worth spending one more minute apart."

"Max…," her voice was shaking and he grabbed her shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

She finally looked up then on a breath, "No I'm sorry," she said quickly, shoving her face into his neck and pulling him close.

"I wanted to tell you about Culling but…"

"Don't worry about it," he cut in, "I was mad and I'm still mad that you kept that from me but I can get over it." she squeezed his shoulder and let out a tear filled moan. "I will get over it because the only other course of action is to leave and that's not even possible for me."

"But…"

"I tried to let you go," he said softly, "but I was sick over you. I couldn't…"

"I couldn't without you either," she said pulling back and even through her eyes and nose were red, her mascara was running and she was sniffling, he'd never seen her smile so big. "I was totally stalking you while we were seperated," she said on a laugh.

He smiled at that, "I know."

"I just wanted you to know that I loved you no matter what."

"I knew that Liz," he said, smile slipping, "no matter what, I never forgot that and I know that you did what you did because you thought it was right. That's the only reason either of us has ever done anything to eachother. Because we thought it was right."

"Because we loved each other," she added quietly, running her hand along his jaw, moving in close.

"We still do, and we always will," he finished and touched her lips with his own gently, for a fleeting moment, before moving away again.

"Max," Liz said softly and he knew what that voice meant. No matter how long it had been, he could never forget.

"Kiss me…"

He looked at her then, eyes closed, face tilted, waiting for him and all he had to do was lean in and take what she was offering. Take what he had been missing but he moved back instead. She opened her eyes after a moment.

"What is it?"

He pushed her hair back with a smile and ignored everything in him that was screaming for him to kiss her, to take her home…he stopped, refusing to finish that train of thought, "Nothing."

"But…"

"I just think maybe we should hold off on all of that for a little while."

She narrowed her eyes, "you don't want to…"

"Oh I definitely want to," he said quickly. "I just think it would be better to do this all the way if we're going to do it."

"Do what?"

"Let's go on a date," he said suddenly.

She looked slightly confused at the change of subject but went along. "I thought you didn't want to."

"I just said that 'cause I was mad but you were right. We should go on a date."

She smiled bashfully, sort of confused but almost catching on, "Where?"

"The Met, you've never been right?"

She nodded.

"Well then I want to take you."

She smiled at him and slowly said, "Okay," like he had made her feel like that 17 year old girl he'd known again and his heart leapt.

"So you want to start over then?"

He smiled and helped her stand, "the right way this time."

She took a breath and started pulling on their engagement ring.

"What are you…"

She struggled with it for a second before putting her mouth on it to try and slick the way and after a moment it finally pulled free. She tried to hand it to him but he backed away. "No Liz, I want you to keep it."

"I don't want this ring until we're going to get married again," she said with purpose. "I don't want it until you're ready to put it back on my finger."

He put out his open palm and she placed it in the center, closing her own hand over his. They stood there, looking at one another for a moment before making their way through the door and into the lobby. They waved goodbye to Davis without looking away from each other and pushed through the door out onto the street. They stood on the curb for a moment and decided to take separate cabs, not totally trusting themselves to stay the course. He let her take the first one, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek before he caught his own home and half hour later he walked in the door with a stupid grin. He glanced at the phone and finally pulled out his cell to if his family had called.

They had.

12 times to be exact.

He groaned and only hesitated twice before calling them back. Isabel picked up.

"How's the hotel?"

She didn't say anything for a second and he heard the distinct sound of a door closing, "Are you alright? We've been calling you all day!"

"I was out."

"Looking for Liz?"

"Okay," he said with some force, "don't say her name like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're over it! Like I'm stupid!"

"Max I…"

"I'm serious Iz," he said lowly, "we're going to be together whether you guys like it or not and you're going to respect her."

"This is ridiculous!"

"Maybe it is, but I love her and I don't want anything like what happened today to happen again got it?"

She sighed, sounded like she wanted to say something else but ended up going with, "Yeah, okay."

"Good. Make sure you tell the others and," he took a breath, "I love you."

"I love you too Max."

"I know," he said gently, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

He flipped the phone closed and went into his room to take a quick shower. He threw on some boxer shorts and grabbed the jeans he'd been wearing off the floor and pulled out the ring. He looked at it for a second before opening his side table and sitting it down inside. He turned over and lay down on top of the covers due to the warm night and put his arms behind his head, thought about the date they were going to have tomorrow, looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

-0-

"I guess he found you then?"

Liz gasped and put her hand over her heart at Maria's sudden voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Max came sniffing around here earlier and from that idiotic look on your face I'm guessing he found you," she started to smile a little, "and I'm guessing it was good news."

The brunette laughed and threw herself down on the couch; her friend followed her and sat down. "Tell me what happened."

She went through every detail. Dizzies, walking, Pfizer, seeing him again…

And when she was done she looked up and saw Maria's soft smile.

"I'm happy for you Liz. You two are crazy but I really do believe you love each other and as long as you're happy, I'm happy for you."

Liz took a breath, "Thank you."

The other woman shrugged, "And I won't apologize for all that stuff I said but I will be nice."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing that need concern you," she replied with a coy smile.

Liz rolled her eyes, "You know," she said after a moment, "His family is here. I saw Michael."

"You did," and the question was so casual it couldn't have been anything but feigned.

"Yes. He and I have never really…gotten along but I know you two…"

"That was a long time ago," she said quickly, "It ended for a reason."

"But Max and I…"

"Not everyone is you two," she said forcefully but with compassion, "Him and me…we were all flash and no fire. Back then I thought that if there was no drama there was no love but I'm grown up now. I know the difference."

"Maria?"

"I'm fine," she said genuinely, "And I hope he's alright too but that's it."

Liz nodded and they hugged tightly before Maria stood and went to her bedroom door.

"I could get his number from Max though, just so you can talk," she added at Maria's pinched face.

She crossed her arms over her chest before nodding and Liz smiled.

"Alright then, goodnight."

Afterward, Liz watched some TV before she went to the bathroom to take a long bath. She threw on an old t- shirt and pulled out the couch, got under the blanket and drifted to sleep.

-0-

He was slightly underdressed when they met up, in a white t-shirt and jeans, but she looked beautiful in a purple knee length summer dress and gold sandals.

The Met was…nice.

Quiet and cold, the art was beautiful, of course, and they would talk about what they thought it meant sometimes. Other times they'd stare at it quizzically before catching the others eye with a laugh. They'd walk away then, almost touching hands.

Almost but not quite.

They left the building an hour and a half later and he stopped a passerby. "Take a picture for us?"

They nodded with a smile and he pulled Liz into his side, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

"Say cheese," their photographer said.

"Cheese!"

He blinked at the flash and Liz took a seat while he went over to get the camera and check the shot. He was happy to see his eyes were wide open in it, "Thank you."

The guy nodded, "Where are you two from?"

"Roswell, New Mexico," he said without a thought even though he'd been in New York for years.

He looked over at Liz appreciatively, said, "She's cute," and that was one of the moments when Max knew for sure he was grown up because if he was really the same Max Evans from Roswell, he would have done a lot more than follow his line of sight and say, "Yeah," with a smile.

"Well," he said, smacking his shoulder, "You two be careful and have fun."

He nodded absently, made his back over to her and showed her the photo. "What do you think?"

She narrowed her eyes and moved it until she could get a good look before she nodded, "It's nice. We don't have many pictures of us together do we?"

He shook his head, "I'm working on remedying that though."

Her face tinted red and he pulled her to her feet delighted, "Let's go for a walk."

"Alright."

They went to the park and sat around on a bench talking, about everything, about anything that popped into their heads, anything that was bothering them or that was interesting and he pushed her hair out of her face and smiled and thought about how happy he was, how much he'd been missing.

She smiled, suddenly looking sheepish, "I got something stuck in my teeth?"

"No."

"Then what are you staring at? I look exactly the same."

He shook his head, "No, it's different now isn't it?"

She looked like she wanted to say something else before her face softened, "Yeah. I guess so."

"Are you going to stay in therapy?"

The question took him slightly off guard and he didn't answer for a moment, "Yes."

"With Dr. Culling?"

"No, and I don't want you to either. I don't trust him."

She nodded, "Yeah, I think we should probably just start fresh."

They looked at one another before she smiled slightly and leaned forward, "Kiss me."

"Liz…"

She didn't wait to hear what he had to say; just leaned forward and met his lips with her own, added pressure incrementally until he slipped his hand around her neck, pulled her closer, let her slip her tongue into his mouth before he followed suit, kept going until he couldn't breathe and pulled away gently on a gasp.

She licked her lips, "Let's go get something to eat. On me."

"No…"

"On me," she said, grabbing the front of his shirt with a smile and he relented. "Alright."

-0-

They went to nice little family place nearby with fantastic food and after a long argument she walked him home, promising she'd catch a cab outside his door and that it was stupid for him to bring her all the way to her place when he lived so close.

They stopped outside his door and she looked around, "You going to invite me up for a nightcap?"

He hesitated.

"Come on Max. We're adults."

He nodded, "Yeah you're right. Come on up."

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite catch his breath, couldn't quite keep her in his grip.

"Slow…slow down a little," but she wasn't listening. He looked up at her through slanted eyes and wondered absently if she had planned this all along or if it was something that just happened.

"You want me to make the coffee?"

"No, I want to make it."

He nodded and sat down, stopped the nervous jiggling of his knee when he noticed it. She came back a moment later and sat down next to him. "I put the pot on and it'll be ready soon."

They sat tensely and she looked around, "The apartment still looks good."

"You haven't been gone that long."

"No. But I thought you might have thrown everything out in a fit or something."

"I considered it."

She laughed and folded one leg underneath herself, got comfortable, "Wanna take me on a tour then?"

"You lived here. You know every nook and cranny of this place."

"Humor me."

He looked at her and shrugged, "if you want to."

She popped up, "Alright, let's go."

He swung his arm and showed her the living room, led her to the kitchen, "This was built in 1972, in case you couldn't tell from the beautiful dropped ceiling and fluorescent lighting."

Liz laughed and leaned against the wall, "Is that it?"

"Well this is New York."

She nodded and folded her arms across her chest, "What about the bedroom?"

It took three tries before he was able to get a sure enough grasp on her hips to reverse their positions and now they were moving slower, deeper, and she was breathing so hard, grasping onto his back, moaning, eyes shut tight.

It felt like it had been…forever since the last time he'd seen her like this, been able to bend one of her legs at the knee, flatten it against the bed. Since he'd been able to put the other one across his shoulder, hear her moan so loud it almost sounded like a shriek.

"Well I know you don't need to see that room."

"I want to though."

"Liz…"

She stepped into his space with a determined look, "I want to see the bedroom."

And he'd never really been able to say no to her so he took her hand in his and led her to the bedroom. When she kissed him, he kissed back, let her pull off his shirt, unbutton his pants, reached out and pulled off her dress, unhooked her bra and now here they were.

"Max…"

She whined and he came back into the moment with a thud, moaned and pulled her close. "Liz…"

She put her hands flat on the head board and grimaced a little. It was time to finish this. He let his hand slick down her arms, over the curve of her breast and onto the hot flesh between them and she let the headboard go, pulled him closer and groaned.

He smiled into her neck, bit down gently against the tendon he found there, felt her flex against him and moan lowly. He started moving faster than, trying to catch up with her and felt it start quickly, spread outward from there and she held him close as he panted afterward.

"Aren't you happy you showed me your bedroom?"

He laughed, "You know," he said, "I had big plans for how I wanted this happen."

"Big plans like what?"

"Like for starters, it wasn't going to happen for at least a week. Maybe a week and a half at the most."

She laughed and he startled her with a sudden move to the side. She watched him dig through his side drawer and pull her ring out.

She took a breath, "Max…"

"...And this," he said, brandishing it before her eyes, "I wasn't going to give this back to you until at least 2 weeks into it."

"Max?"

"I love you."

"I love you too but I don't want you to think I did this so..."

"Liz," he said gently, still trying to catch his breath. "I wanted to and so did you."

"But…"

"It's not like it was before. We aren't like we were back then."

She raised her head, smiled a little, "You say that like it was years ago."

"Might as well have been."

"Max I…"

"I want to marry you and I know we have issues to work out so it can be a long engagement."

She smiled wide and covered her face, tearing up, giving in, "This is crazy."

"We're crazy."

She laughed and he grabbed her left hand, "Are we going to do this?"

"Yes," she replied after a moment, "We are going to do this."

He smiled back and grabbed her left hand, "Elizabeth Parker. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "I will marry you, Maxwell Evans."

He moved to put the ring on her hand, remembered how she'd struggled to pull it off the first time and put the digit in his mouth, watched her eyes go all vague and hazy, before letting it slip free.

"I love you," she said lowly.

"I love you too, no matter what," he whispered and slid the ring on, let it hit home.

-Thanks for reading and please take a minute to reply. It would make my day. :)

Begun: June 17, 2008
Completed: March 23, 2009