Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell TV show or characters.

Chapter 1

Liz snuck a glance at Max's table as she stood behind the counter at the Crashdown reviewing the day's receipts. Max was sitting with Tess and Isabel. Sensing someone looking at him, Max looked up and caught Liz's eye and she looked back down at the receipts, her face turning red at having been caught staring.

It had been a month since Liz broke Max's heart, and her own in the process, by pretending to sleep with Kyle when Future Max had visited her and warned of the death of her friends and the destruction of Earth if she didn't make Max fall out of love with her. As hard as she tried, Liz hasn't been able to let go of her love for Max. Being around Max was hard. His close proximity made her body scream to kiss him, touch him in some way, but she fought those feelings with all of the strength she had. Happiness in her love for Max wasn't worth the lives of everyone they both cared about and the security of the planet. She had to let him go. Plus she had heard it with her own ears that Max's destiny was with Tess. She couldn't stand in his way and be selfish when he had a whole planet and millions to save on Antar. After he returned from the summit in New York the other day, they decided to try and be friends and that would have to be enough.

"Penny for your thoughts, babe" Maria leaned against the counter next to her.

"Receipts, today's receipts" Liz held up the stack of papers that had been on the counter in front of her.

"Yeah, right. I think someone is thinking about a certain Czechoslovakian" Maria said putting her arm around Liz.

"Nope" Liz said looking down at her shoes.

Maria chuckled. "You're such a horrible liar. Well, since they came into our lives" Maria nodded her head in Max's direction "we've all gotten to be great liars, but you're a horrible liar to your best friend." Maria smiled.

"I can't think about him Maria. It hurts too much." Liz said sadly.

"I think you should tell him about Future Max. Maybe you can figure out a way to save the world and still be together." Maria pulled Liz toward her tighter.

"Even without Future Max, there is still his destiny about being with Tess. How can I stand in Max's way to become who he is meant to be?" Liz looked at Maria with sorrow in her eyes.

"Destiny smestiny. Isabel and Michael aren't buying into the whole destiny thing. They want nothing to do with each other in that way."

"Yeah, but Isabel and Michael weren't actually married yet and they weren't King and Queen. Max and Tess being together probably adds stability to the transition from their old life to their new one." Liz started packing up the accounting books and receipts.

"Everything seems to point to Max needing to be with Tess and too many lives, human and alien, are at stake so I'm not going to risk getting in their way. My happiness isn't worth the potential pain and destruction that could happen." Liz hugged Maria. "I'll be fine. I'm a strong independent woman. I can survive without Max Evans. It's getting late and I'm tired. I am going to head up to bed. Can you finish closing up?"

"Sure" Maria watched Liz go into the back with a sigh. Liz was her best friend and deserved to be happy. She turned to the kitchen. "Hurry up cleaning the kitchen Spaceboy, I want to get out of here while I'm still young."

Liz walked into the backroom returning the accounting books and receipts to her dad's office. She headed up the stairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She slid to the floor finally letting the tears flow. I can do this, Liz thought. I can see him and be around him and let him have the life he was meant to have. Stupid Future Max, stupid destiny. Okay, what I am 5 Liz laughed at herself. Suck it up Parker. You can't tell Max the truth even though you want to. How many people really get the happy ending anyway, Liz chided herself. She climbed into her bed, too exhausted to change out of her uniform and fell asleep thinking of Max and Future Max and the waging war within herself between confessing everything to Max and pledging her love, verses her desire to save everyone and let Max grow into the King he needed to be.

Max had taken in the exchange between Maria and Liz out of the corner of his eye and wondered what they were talking about. He could tell Liz was upset and his instinct was to run to her and comfort her, but he held back. She made her decision to walk away from him by sleeping with Kyle. Liz didn't want him. They agreed to be friends, nothing more. Anyway, his destiny is supposed to be with Tess, right? Everyone seems to want him to be with Tess. Didn't he owe it to his people on Antar to be with the Queen they had sent to Earth with him? Max looked at Tess who was deep in conversation with Isabel, sighed and tried to refocus on the conversation desperately trying to not think about Liz. Max continued to fidget knowing Liz was right upstairs which forced his thoughts to continue to dwell on her. He needed to leave before the thoughts drove him nuts.

"I'm really tired. I'm going to head home," Max said suddenly breaking into the conversation.

"Are you okay, Max?" Isabel asked surprised that he wanted to leave out of the blue.

"Fine, I'm just exhausted. I'm still trying to catch up from everything that happened in New York." Max had just returned from an intergalactic summit in New York where he was almost killed by Michael and Isabel's duplicate aliens.

"Can you grab a ride with Maria?" Max asked.

"Sure" Isabel and Tess answered.

"See you tomorrow Tess." Max got up from the booth and headed to the jeep.

A young man sat in a car watching the Crashdown. He pulled out a cell phone hitting one on the speed dial.

"King and Queeny are together but not exactly comfy cozy if you catch my meaning since they got back."

"Have they completed any of the bonding steps?" the voice on the phone asked.

"No."

"Keep watching" the line went dead.

Max drove home and he tried to fight the thoughts of Liz that kept creeping into his mind. His feelings ran the gamete from anger at her having slept with Kyle to undying love as it was his Liz and he had always loved her. When he arrived at home he collapsed on his bed still in his clothes. With a heavy heart Max fell asleep on top of his covers and instantly started to dream.

Max stood at Liz's window and saw her in bed with Kyle, the sheet pulled up to cover her naked body. She looked at Max, eyes full of sorrow.

"Trust your heart, not your eyes, Max. My heart now and forever belongs to you" Liz said.

"She only did this because you asked Max" Kyle said.

Max hung his head. "How could you, how could you sleep with someone else?" Max whispered. He looked back and Liz was propped up on her elbow still clutching the sheet but Kyle was gone replaced by a different man. Max rubbed his eyes trying to understand what he was seeing. He saw himself but not himself in the bed next to Liz. The face was his, but more worn and scarred with long hair tinged with gray.

"She only did this because we asked" the Max look alike said. "We asked her to save the world and she loved us so much she did."

"I will always love you Max. Never forget that, even if I'm not your destiny. I will never love another like I love you, but you must save too many to love me back."

Liz climbed out of the bed holding the sheet as it clung to her small frame. She walked up and gave Max a gentle kiss on the cheek before crossing the balcony. Liz climbed up on the balcony's ledge and turned to face Max.

"Forget me Max. Save your people. I am an insignificant human and won't stand in the way of the man and King you will become." Liz spread her arms wide and allowed herself to fall back off the ledge.

"No" Max cried racing to the ledge trying to grab Liz. He brushed her hand but wasn't able to hold her and she continued to fall. "Liz" he screamed.

Max and Liz simultaneously bolted upright in their own beds.

Max was covered in sweat and his breathing was ragged. He looked around the room in a panic. He heard a knock at the door and Isabel came into his room.

"Are you okay?" Isabel looked at Max with a concerned look.

"Just a bad dream" Max admitted trying to get his breathing under control.

"You were screaming Liz's name. Mom and Dad are still out for their date night otherwise you would have had a lot of explaining to do. What was the dream about?" Isabel was disturbed by his frantic state.

Max was confused by what he saw in the dream and didn't want to dredge up seeing Kyle and Liz together anymore. "I'm not sure" Max said. "I just want to go back to sleep, Iz. Can we talk tomorrow?" Max flopped back against his pillow.

"I thought you were getting over this whole Liz thing and were going to give Tess a chance? The summit has made things more real Max. We don't have time for you to be distracted. What are we going to do? I'm too young to be a war casualty. Especially a war I know nothing about." She said exasperated.

"Right, now I'm going back to sleep and tomorrow we get up, do things like normal. We start acting different and it's only going to draw attention to us."

"Are you sure?" Isabel asked in frustration.

"Yeah, good night, Iz." Max put his arm over his eyes.

Taking the hint, Isabel got up heading to the door. "Night Max." Isabel quietly closed the door.

Once the door was closed, Max jumped off the bed and pulled on his running shoes. He ran to the window and quietly opened it climbing outside. He started running. The panic was still inside him and he needed to make sure that Liz was okay. He ran all the way to the Crashdown and climbed the ladder to her balcony as he had done so many times before in the past. He silently crossed to Liz's window. Her room was dark and he peered inside. The light of the moon fell across Liz's bed and he could see her curled into a tight ball on top of her covers still in her uniform, her body shaking, and he could hear her sobbing.

Max sat down next to the window his back against the brick wall. He was relieved she was alive, but his heart hurt to hear her so sad. What had made her so upset Max thought? Max sat not moving until Liz's sobbing stopped. He peaked back in the window and saw her lying still on the bed. He crept back across to the ladder and with a heavy heart climbed down and walked home. How had things gotten so screwed up Max thought? I guess Kings aren't supposed to get happy endings he sighed to himself. Max headed home and climbed back into bed and fell asleep.

The next afternoon Liz was filling salt shakers at the Crashdown when Max walked in. He looked fabulous in just his black v-neck t-shirt and jeans. The t-shirt accentuated the muscles in his arms. Arms that Liz missed circling around her. Liz looked up and she tried to suppress her sigh of longing as she watched him walk towards her. Max sat at the counter in front of her. Max was supposed to be meeting Tess, but he couldn't resist talking to Liz. She was wearing her green alien uniform that she hated, but Max thought she looked sexy in it. Even after everything, he was still drawn to Liz like a moth to a flame.

"Hey Liz" Max said staring at his hands.

"Hey Max" Liz said quietly putting down the salt and placing a fake smile on her face. "What can I get you?"

"Oh, uh a cherry coke. Thanks."

"Coming right up." Liz said with a little too much cheer in her voice. Act natural Parker, she chided herself. She filled a glass with cherry coke and added a couple drops of Tabasco sauce before putting it on the counter in front of him.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Max asked still not meeting her eyes.

"Is everything okay Max?" Liz stood still, scared what he may want to talk about.

"I wanted to say thanks again for saving me in New York." Liz opened her mouth to respond, but Max continued on still looking down. "I know things have been awkward between us, but I'm glad we're trying to be friends again. We've been through a lot together and I can't imagine not having you as a friend." Max lifted his eyes to Liz.

"I will always be your friend Max. Even sovereign heads of far away planets need friends…even if the friend is an insignificant human" Liz chuckled.

Max's head popped up at the phrase. Liz had called herself an insignificant human in his dream. Max grew agitated remembering Liz falling from the balcony. "You're not insignificant" Max mumbled.

"Pardon, Max" Liz asked not having heard Max's last statement. She saw he was agitated and looked at him with a look of concern.

"You're a good friend" he recovered quickly.

Max and Liz chatted about school, Maria and Michael and other happy topics. They were lost in their conversation laughing and smiling like they hadn't done in a long time and didn't notice Tess enter the restaurant. Seeing Max sitting at the counter smiling and laughing with Liz made her blood start to boil. Max was her destiny, not Liz. Why did she always have to compete with Liz? She stalked over to them.

"Hi Max" Tess said brightly fighting the rage inside of her.

"Oh, hi Tess" Max said his body stiffening a bit at her presence.

"Hey Tess, how are you?" Liz said with a small smile stepping back a bit from the counter and Max to put some distance between them.

"Fine" Tess said with a blank expression on her face. She turned to Max, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know we're supposed to hang out here, but I thought maybe we could go catch a movie." Tess turned back to Liz with a half smile on her face. "Why don't you and Kyle come with us, Liz? It can be a double date."

"Oh, Kyle and I aren't, um together." Liz said turning red and looking at her shoes.

"Oh I just thought after sleeping together you two were an item now."

"I-its co-complicated" Liz stuttered fighting back tears. She didn't need to look up to know that Max was yet again hurt. She could feel the pain coming off from him in waves. "I need to go check on something in the kitchen, you guys have fun at the movies." Liz ran into the back room.

Max watched her run away hurt at the memories that flooded back to him of Liz in bed with Kyle, but confused at her reaction and the obvious pain she was feeling. Max missed the sly smile that crossed Tess's lips.

"If we're going to catch that movie Max, we should get going" she said sweetly.

"Ok" Max said absently mindedly still staring at the door to the back of the Crashdown where Liz had disappeared. Tess took his hand and he reluctantly followed her out to his jeep.

A/N: Please review.