PART SEVENTEEN

It all happened within an instant, but it felt like an eternity.

Liz's eyes were shut tight as she heard Maria's whimper of terror. Max's weight was still on her, no more or no less than it was a moment before, and she willed herself the courage to open her eyes.

Her eyes were drawn to Max immediately, lowering him to the ground.

And as she turned her head, she noticed the absence of Wilkes, until she noticed the slumped figure on the ground.

And she turned to look behind her, and she saw Uncle John, holding the gun, his arms still held ram-rod straight in front of him. She saw the uneven rise and fall of his chest, his eyes wide, almost in disbelief of what he'd just done.

Alex stood with his mouth open.

Finally it snapped shut.

"What are you doing here Uncle John?" he finally spat out.

John's eyes did not leave the inert form on the ground.

"I could ask you the same thing. There's no time to explain now. I have a truck. We have to get out of here," he said, walking over to Wilkes and shoving him with his foot.

He let out a shaky breath as he looked at all of them.

"They're going to be coming after you," he said.

"Which way?" Liz asked.

He pointed out to the left in the darkness.

She looked down at Max, whose eyes had again rolled to the back of his head. The girl and the boy moved to stand behind her.

"Max," she said softly, touching his cheek. His head jerked, and he looked up at her through slitted eyes.

"Max, you have to stay awake, just for a little bit longer," she said. "Please, for me. We're almost safe."

She watched as his head lolled to the side. Jeffrey leaned down pulling his arm, lifting him from the ground, and Max grunted with pain.

Liz glared at him.

"You're hurting him," she said.

"We don't have time to waste," the man replied without looking at her.

She carefully placed Max's other arm over her shoulder supporting his waist.

She glanced back at the boy and girl, who were looking at all of them in fear, not sure what to do.

"It's all right," she said, nodding at them. "No one is going to hurt you."

They didn't answer, but when the group started to move, they followed behind.

"It's this way," Uncle John said, casting frequent glances over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.

Moments later, they reached the SUV. Alex and Maria jumped into the back seat, the boy and the girl climbing into the cargo area, as Liz followed, Jeffrey helping her to pull Max in. The back door swung shut, and Jeffrey climbed in the front passenger seat and they were off.

Max's head lay in Liz's lap, having lapsed into unconsciousness. His cupped his cheek worriedly as the truck swayed through the sand at a dangerous speed. Vaguely, she heard Alex firing questions at Uncle John, which he pointedly ignored.

She glanced at the boy and girl, who were looking at her distrustfully.

The girl grabbed Max's hand possessively, and almost glared at Liz.

It seemed as if her suspicions were true. This girl was meant for Max.

Liz felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Liz, are you ok?" Maria asked, worried.

"Did they hurt you? In your room, there was blood...." she trailed off.

"I'm ok Maria," she said. "I'm just worried about Max," she said, looking down at the pale contours of his face.

"What did they do to the two of you, Liz?" Maria asked quietly.

Liz shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it, not now," she said.

"Are they....like Max?" she asked quietly, and Liz nodded silently.

Maria looked at them appraisingly as they stared back at her distrustfully.

"Liz, do you know what Max is?" Maria asked. "I mean that guy that looks like Jeffrey....he's not-"

"Human," Liz finished quietly. "I know."

"How did we get caught up in this?" Maria said exasperated.

"I'm sorry Maria, for everything," Liz said.

"No Chica, I'm just glad you're ok, it's just this whole situation is so, I don't know, Outer Limits," she said.

Liz nodded.
"They're going to come after them, you know that," Maria said.

"Yeah," Liz said.

"What are you going to do?" Maria asked.

"I'm going to help Max," Liz said, stroking his cheek.

Maria took one look at the way Liz was looking at Max, and sighed.

"You know how weird this is right?" she asked.

"I know Maria, but I can't help the way I feel," Liz said quietly. "There's something special about him. I just can't walk away, not now, not after everything we've been through."

Maria gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll figure this out," she said, glancing over at the boy, who was glaring at her.

"What?" she said, challengingly.

Her question was met with silence. She widened her eyes in a mock glare mimicking the one he was giving her.

"He's strange," she muttered.

"Not like Max, that's for sure," she said, turning to face the front.

Liz looked sympathetically at the two strangers. This had to be scary for the two of them, not knowing any of them, or where they were going.

Her empathy only caused the girl to grip Max's hand tighter.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Liz said to her softly, and she received silence in return.

She wondered if they could speak. They spoke on Max's dream plane, but that didn't mean anything. Perhaps Max was able to vocalize their thoughts. After all, he had all these abilities.

She supposed they had every reason to distrust her. She was a human, after all, and humans had done unimaginable things to them.

But they'd gotten out, and they'd gotten out *alive*.

A silence settled over the occupants in the truck, once it was established that Uncle John was not going to accommodate Alex's many questions.

Personally, Liz didn't care how he came to be there, she was just glad that he had been.

There was some understanding between the man that looked like Jeffrey and Uncle John. That much she knew. But how that came to be, and everything else about Uncle John's appearance was a mystery.

For almost an hour, Liz watched Max worriedly as Maria and Alex frequently looked back to make sure that Liz was ok.

She could feel the intense gazes of the boy and the girl on her, though they said nothing.

Finally, she felt the truck slow to a stop.

She looked out the window and saw....nothing.

"Why are we here?" she whispered to herself, confused. There was nothing to be seen but sand and a huge outcropping of rock.

Her question was about to be answered as Uncle John and the Jeffrey dupe jumped out of the truck and came around to the back of it.

The hatch was opened, and Jeffrey nodded at the boy and girl to get out.

They seemed to accept his assurance and climbed out, the girl reluctant to let go of Max's hand.

Jeffrey took Max's legs and pulled on them to get him out, Liz gently pushing from behind.

The movement jarred Max and his eyes opened slightly.

"Liz?" he said frantically.

"I'm right here Max," she said soothingly near his ear.

"Can you stand?" she asked.

"Try," he mumbled, as he sat on the tailgate. Liz jumped out before him and took his hand as she saw Jeffrey glancing at the rocks.

It seemed this was where they were going.

"I don't know if he'll make that," she said to Jeffrey. "It's pretty steep."

"He'll do it," Jeffrey replied, non-committal.

Liz lowered her head to meet Max's eyes.

"Do you think you can do it? I'll help you," she whispered.

He nodded after a hesitation.

She squeezed his hand and he hesitantly stood, looking as if his legs were going to buckle beneath him.

"Max, I'm not sure about this," she said, glancing at Alex and Maria.

"I'll be ok," he said shakily, looking at the boy and girl, who stood close to him.
Liz went to slip her arm around his waist, when the girl nudged her away, taking her place.

Maria glared at the girl, looking at Liz sympathetically, but said nothing.

They started up the sharply inclined path, the moon lighting the way. Liz kept a watchful eye on Max as he stumbled next to the girl, and she wasn't the only one watching. The boy walking beside her hadn't taken his eyes of either one of them as well.

Liz heard Maria mumbling to Alex behind her.

"Alex, what about your Uncle John? I think he *knew*," she said. "He knew and he didn't say anything!"

"Look, let's hold off on judgment until we hear what he has to say," Alex answered back.

"It better be good," Maria muttered. "If Liz and Max both went through hell, and he knew, I swear Alex...."

"Maria, you've known Uncle John for like....forever. Do you really think that if he had a way to help them that he would've?" Alex asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't know anything anymore. And the fact that he isn't telling us anything isn't making me feel any better."

She was so consumed with her conversation and watching the ground, she didn't see the boy come to a stop in front of her, and she smacked headfirst into his back.

"Move it Spaceboy!" she said, irritated.

He turned and glared at her.

"Oh what....you think that after what I've been through the past few days that your death-look is going to scare me? Come on, I dare you!" she said.

"Maria, cut it," Alex said, watching the boy warily.

The boy turned around and started to walk again.

The last stretch to the outcropping was steep, and their voices grew silent as they conserved their energy climbing.

Liz noticed that the girl was struggling with Max, but as she was about to go help, the boy stepped up and took Max's other arm.

She couldn't help but feel a small pang of jealousy.

At last Jeffrey stopped and looked at the wall of rock for a moment before waving his hand in front of it.

A silver handprint glowed against the wall and almost immediately the rock slid aside to reveal an entranceway.

Liz looked back at Alex and Maria who had paused for a moment. Alex came up beside her and put his arm around her neck reassuringly.

"I'm glad you're all right Liz," he whispered near her ear, and Liz squeezed his waist before they followed the others into the cave.

For a moment, it was pitch black, and then light appeared from stones that Jeffrey took out of his pocket.

The humans stood rooted to the stone floor, taking in their surroundings. The interior was unremarkable, save the humming noise that seemed to be coming from thin air.

The girl and boy laid Max carefully on the floor, and Liz saw that he had again lost consciousness.

"I think you should all sit down," Uncle John volunteered, and the girl slid to the ground alongside Max. The boy sat next to her.

"Is anyone going to help Max?" Liz asked, looking at the man who looked like Jeffrey.

"I can't heal," the man responded. "I disabled the chip, but I can't do anything about his injuries. When he gets his strength back, he should be able to heal himself."

Liz glanced over at the blackened skin on Max's chest and she felt her heart twist.

"He's going to be ok Liz," Maria said quietly.

Liz ignored the looks from the boy and girl and went to Max. She needed to be near him, to make sure that he was going to be ok.

If something were to happen, she wanted to be close.

Alex couldn't wait any longer for answers from Uncle John.

"*I* think you owe us some answers, Uncle John," Alex interjected.

"Alex, just sit. We'll tell you everything you want to know," he said glancing at Langley, who looked none too happy about that statement.

"How do you know this guy, or whatever he is?" Alex asked, unable to wait.

Uncle John sighed.

"I've been trying to help Mr. Langley, as I call him, find Max and the others for a long time. I was introduced to him by a man called Patrick. Look, I can't tell you too much, but there is a lot you kids don't now about me. I am not just a doctor, and it isn't just illegal aliens that I have been helping," he said.

"Uncle John, I think at this point you owe us the truth," Alex said.

"Let's just say that I belong to a group that has....planetary concerns. For planets in other galaxies. The safety of certain planets may assure the safety of Earth," he said.

"Mr. Langley here had been searching for these kids for over 50 years. He was their guardian, sent ahead of their ship to Earth to make sure that their....integration went smoothly," he said.

"Unfortunately, the ship went off trajectory, and wound up crashing in this area. It was supposed to have landed in Colorado. By the time the news of the crash got around, the ship and the beings inside were gone. There was another protector with them. He'd managed to hide
the pods somewhere in the desert. He'd made contact with Mr. Langley here and they'd arranged to meet. Only, the other protector was killed just as he got to the rendezvous. That was in 1965. He's been searching for them ever since, and hadn't had any leads....until I saw Max here," Uncle John said.

"When I saw what had been done to him, I knew what he was," Uncle John said. "Unfortunately, I didn't know it was the FBI that had done it to him. There are other groups out there that want Max and the others."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Liz said softly, looking at Max.

"Because I didn't want you kids in any more danger than you were already in. I knew that at least Max was away from them. I figured I would just find out what bus you put him on, and would send Langley in that direction," Uncle John said.

"But then the shooting happened and Max disappeared. I told Langley the direction Max ran in, and he started to search the surrounding towns. Who could have known he was still near Roswell?"

"I didn't want you kids involved in this, believe me. When you told me that Liz and Max were taken by the FBI, I sent for Langley," he said.

"We saw him go into the shed," Maria said quietly. "When he came out, he looked like he does now."

Langley nodded.

"I was looking for any indication of where they might have taken them. I found this man's wallet," he said, motioning to his own body, " and I got flashes of the compound. I saw what happened in the shed. I saw the location of the compound."

"We followed you," Alex said. "We thought if you found Max, you'd lead us to Liz."

"That was a stupid thing to do Alex," Uncle John said. "You two could have gotten killed. You should have left it to me."

"As far as we knew, you hadn't been able to uncover anything. We couldn't just sit around doing nothing," Alex said.

Uncle John smiled wryly.

"I should have known better," he sighed.

"So what do we do now?" Maria asked.

"They aren't going to let Max go," Uncle John said.

"We are going to have to confront them," Uncle John said.

"Confront them?" Maria said. "What's that going to do? They aren't going to let it go. The only way that would happen is if...." she trailed off, looking at Uncle John with wide eyes.

"You aren't thinking of....?" she said hesitantly.

"I think it's best if the three of you go into hiding until this is over with," Uncle John said. "They'll be looking for Liz, and it isn't safe for you to go back to Roswell. I don't want any of you involved in this."

"I'm not leaving Max," Liz said quietly.

"Liz, you can't stay," Uncle John said. "You've no idea what kind of danger you'll be putting yourself in."

"I don't care Uncle John. I'm not leaving, not until I know that Max is free, really free," she said, looking at the boy and girl.

Alex's back straightened.

"If Liz is staying, then so am I," Alex said.

Maria looked at Alex and nodded.

"Me too," she said.

"I really don't think that's a good idea," Uncle John said.

"You don't really have a choice in the matter," Alex said dryly.

Uncle John shook his head and said nothing. He knew there would be no convincing them otherwise.

"So, what's the plan?" Maria asked, resting her chin on her hand.

"Eventually to lure the unit to us," Uncle John said. "We need Max and the others to be in top form though. He has to be able to heal himself first."

Liz glanced down at Max, his dark lashes resting against his ashen cheeks.

"Max isn't in any shape to do anything right now," she said. She turned to Langley.

"Why is he so much worse than the others?" she asked. "They seem to be ok."

"Pierce was right when he told Max to stop fighting the chip," Langley said. "His body took a real beating before I disabled it."

"So you're telling me that he may have really hurt himself, because of me?" she asked.

Langley looked at her and nodded without emotion.

She felt the gaze of the boy and girl boring into the back of her head and she didn't dare look at them.

"We can get the chips out again Alex. I have a laptop and a satellite connection to the net. Is there any way you can get that encryption program you had on your laptop?" Uncle John asked.

Alex nodded.

"I can just dial into my computer at home and download it," he said, looking speculatively at the two strangers.

"Are they going to let me hook them up?" he asked, glancing at Langley.

He turned to them, and nodded.

"Yes," he said.

"I have supplies in the truck. Why don't you come out and help me bring them in?" Uncle John said to Alex.

Alex nodded, and followed him outside.

*%*%*%*%*%*%

For the moment, all was peaceful, something Liz hadn't felt in weeks.

But that didn't stop her from feeling helpless as she looked down at the face she'd come to know as one she could love.

Max could have killed himself back at the compound, all because he was trying to protect her.

She didn't want to think of the unimaginable pain he must have experienced while Pierce manipulated the chip.

He had done that for her, and that act of courage, of bravery tied her heart to him in an unbreakable bond. She knew now more than ever that Max was someone she could give her heart to unconditionally, not despite what he was, but because of what he was.

She glanced up as Alex came back into the chamber with the laptop.

Langley came over to the boy and spoke a few quiet words, and the boy motioned to the girl and they followed Langley over to Alex.

Soon their chips would be removed, and then Alex could remove Max's, and if she had anything to do with it, he'd never have to see another one again.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%%

"Who's first?" Alex said, typing quickly on the laptop, never taking his eyes off the screen.

Langley motioned to the boy, and he cautiously sat in front of Alex on the stone floor. He led the girl away from them, talking to her quietly in the corner, as she kept a watchful eye on the boy.

Alex grabbed the input and connected it to the post on the computer before clipping the other end onto the boy's chip.

The boy looked at Alex warily as he started to type on the laptop again.

After a minute, he stopped and looked up at the boy.

"This is probably going to hurt," he said, as Maria came up behind him looking at the boy.

Against her will, she felt sorry for him, because Alex had told her what Max experienced back at Uncle John's office that night.

For a moment, Alex paused, seeing the look of fear pass across the boy's face.

Without thinking, Maria sat down next to the boy, putting her hand on his arm.

"Hey, Spaceboy," she said, looking at him.

He turned to her, giving her a glare.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry for what I said before," she said. "I was not in a good place and you just happened to be in my way."

The glare didn't change an iota, until Alex adjusted the input again, and Maria again saw the flash of fear pass across his features.

Her face softened.

"You can trust Alex," she said. "He did the same thing for Max, and Max was just fine afterwards. I promise," she said, making an "x" over her heart.

"It'll be over quick, and then it's gone," she said.

He looked at the ground.

"Are you ready?" Alex asked, and after a moment's hesitation, the boy nodded.

"Here we go," Alex said, and hit the enter key.

They heard the hard drive of the laptop working furiously for long moments, and suddenly, that eerie whirring noise emanated from the chip as the prongs released themselves and the cauterization began.

The boy double over and his breathing became heavy, but he didn't utter a sound, his eyes clamped into tight slits.

Maria's eyes widened as she saw the bloody chip drop onto the stone. The boy remained hunched over and she leaned over, concerned.

"Are you ok?" she asked, and the boy's upper body straightened with lightning speed.

He sat stiffly, obviously not wanting them to see any sign of weakness, though the blood seeping onto the blackened skin only illustrated the pain he was experiencing.

He glanced over at Maria, and his head paused in turning back when he saw the concern in her eyes.

For a moment, she saw a flash of something in his eyes, almost the glance of a vulnerable little boy, before he quickly masked it and turned away.

Uncle John put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Come on, we'll patch you up," he said, and the boy looked up at him, before getting to his feet. Uncle John unhooked the input cable from the chip lying on the floor and tossed it to Alex.

"Maria, you want to help?" Uncle John asked, and Maria shrugged, getting up.

Uncle John sat the boy down to the right of Alex and started to work on getting the boy stitched and bandaged.

Alex glanced over at Langley, who put his hand on the girl's back and seemed to force her over to sit in front of the laptop.

Alex had again turned his attention to the screen, setting the program up for the next hack.

She sat down in front of him, her back ramrod straight, her chin in the air.

Alex tapped quickly on the keys and glanced up, pausing as he really got a look at the girl for the first time.

As she gazed defiantly into his blue eyes for a moment he was mesmerized. He hadn't realized the regal beauty of her features.

Her brown eyes challenged his, and he lifted his brow for an instant before turning his attention back to the keyboard.

A moment later, he finished and looked up again. He picked up the input cable and paused, realizing what he'd have to do.

The chip was just below the neckline of the hospital gown she was wearing. He'd have to lower it a bit to get it connected.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he looked at her for permission. She just stared back at him.

Slowly, so not to scare her, he reached out and pulled the gown down a bit.

He swallowed hard as he felt the soft skin beneath it as he carefully clipped the cable to the chip.

He looked down blushing as he pulled the gown back up.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, and hearing the sudden sharp intake of her breath, his head shot up.

Sympathy overwhelmed him as he saw the tears gathering in her brown eyes.

"Hey....hey, it's going to be ok," he said softly, looking at her reassuringly.

He saw her lip tremble, and he rubbed his hand over his eyes, before meeting hers again.

Time to try a different tactic.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

She looked at him blankly.

"A name....something I can call you by?" he asked.

She slowly shook her head.

Alex felt a twist of anger in his gut at this admission. How awful to not even have a name.

"Would you like a name?" he asked.

She looked at the ground.

"I'm guessing he doesn't have a name either," Maria said softly, as she looked at the boy being stitched by Uncle John.

"Alex, why don't we give them names?" she asked.

The two looked at Maria.

"Would you mind if I called you Isabel?" Alex asked the girl.

She shrugged non-committal.

"I wouldn't know what to call this one," Maria said, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at the boy with narrowed eyes. He stared back at her.

"Michael," she said, finally. "Yep, he's a Michael."

"Why Michael?" the boy asked suddenly, and her eyes widened.

"You can speak?" she asked indiantly.

"Yeah," the boy said, looking at her as if she were crazy.

"Than why haven't you said anything?" she asked.

"I haven't heard anything worth opening my mouth for," The boy retorted.

"Arrrghhh," Maria growled, irritated.

"So why?" he asked.

"Why what?" she snapped.

"Why Michael?" he asked.

"Just....because," she retorted. "I don't think I feel this conversation is worth opening my mouth to explain my choice of names."

"Whatever," the boy muttered, and Maria got up and walked across the chamber in a huff.

Alex didn't push the girl to speak though he now knew that she probably could.

"Let's get this over with," he said softly, and he hit the enter key.

Again the machine made grinding noises as it worked to decode the chip's combination.

And suddenly, the chip disengaged itself under the gown, and the cable went slightly taught as it dropped beneath it, a blood stain appearing on the gown.

She looked down at the spreading stain and her face tightened.

Alex carefully pulled the cable from her gown.

"It's almost over," Alex said, reassuringly as he glanced over to see Uncle John finishing with the boy.

"Uncle John will finish you up now, ok?" he asked, craning his head to meet her lowered eyes.

She nodded, and he put a comforting hand over hers.

"You did great....Isabel," he said, and she looked up at him, distrust still mingling in with a tentative look of hope.

He smiled at her.

"Go ahead, it's ok," he said, and she gave him a tiny smile, before getting up and going over to John.

Alex picked up the laptop and walked over to where Max lay with Liz watching him diligently.

"Should we do this now?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Now's a good a time as any," she said, stroking Max's cheek.

"If we're lucky, he won't even wake up," Alex said.

She nodded.

Quickly Alex repeated the same process, hooking up the input to the chip, careful not to touch the surrounding burns.

In a moment, he was ready and he started the program one final time.

Again for long moments the laptop worked its decoding magic. But as the whirring noise began, Max's body seized and he gasped.

"Liz!" he said hoarsely.

"I'm here Max," she said, looking fearfully at him.

His eyes met hers, and his body relaxed slumping back to the stone as she leaned over, her mouth close to his ear.

"It's going to be ok, Alex is just taking the chip out," she whispered, her fingers lightly grazing his cheek.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," she said.

His pain-filled eyes looked into her reassuring ones, and his eyes shut again as the chip came out of his skin and slid down his chest.

Alex called to John, who tossed him a gauze pad and he handed it to Liz. She gently laid it over the wound, and put gentle pressure on it.

For long moments she stayed that way until John came over to finish.

He cleaned the wounded area and stitched the wound, Max never regaining consciousness throughout.

Finally he stood, gathering his supplies.

No one spoke for most of the two hours they were still awake.

Sleeping bags were brought in from the back seat of the truck, Maria and Alex sharing one, Liz taking one for her and Max. The boy and the girl took the third, and John took the fourth.

Exhaustion was about to overwhelm them all, and they settled down. Langley took guard outside, telling them that he didn't sleep.

The chamber became quiet as everyone drifted to sleep.

*%*%*%*%*%*%*

Max awoke to a dim light and a constricting pain in his chest. For a moment, he forgot where he was, and he looked around in panic, until he saw the sleeping face of his Liz next to him, her hand on his arm, her body curled into his side protectively.

Every muscle in his body ached, but he couldn't stop himself from turning on his side to be better able to look at her.

A wisp of hair had fallen across her face, and he tenderly pushed it aside with his finger.

She sighed and snuggled in closer to him, draping her hand over his waist. He gently pulled the sleeping bag that was draped over the both of them up to her shoulder.

Being able to look at her unguarded in sleep was truly a gift. The fact that she was here was unimaginable to him. And that she cared for him was something he would have never dreamed of.

He closed his eyes for a moment, fully concentrating on the soft skin of her fingers on his waist, and the velvety feel of the underside of her forearm pressing its gentle weight on him.

He felt every cell in his body responding to her, as if she were calling out to him, and he opened his eyes pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

So many times in the past month, the world seemed to be falling apart around them, but somehow they lived through it together. He was still trying to accept that they'd escaped the compound. Trying to accept that they were out, away from Pierce.

His arm slipped around her protectively as he thought of what could have happened earlier, had the being not appeared when he did.

As soon as he had touched him, he knew what he was, looking like Jeffrey and all.

He felt the rage burn his heart as he thought of Pierce's malicious tortures.

He would have died before he hurt Liz, that much he knew, because Liz had become the most important person in his life in the time they'd spent in the compound.

He ached at the thought of that she had been dragged into this mess. But he couldn't help but feel lucky in a way that she'd been brought into his miserable existence, because she'd taught him about friendship, about compassion, about bravery.
His forehead touched hers lightly, his nose pressing slightly against hers.

Her diminutive body fit perfectly against his, and her very nearness brought him comfort, just as it had from the moment he met her.

"Max," she whispered quietly, still asleep, and he smiled softly, his heart tightening as heard it. Because she did things to him that no one else could. She made him feel things he'd never felt before. She made him want to fight for his freedom, and for the others, because as crazy as it sounded, if they won, he might have a chance at a future, and if he was really lucky, he might have a future with her. Because he was more sure of one thing than he'd ever been in his life.

"I love you Liz," he whispered, pulling her further into his tender embrace, closing his eyes, her even breathing and steady heartbeat lulling him into the most peaceful sleep he'd had in months.