Where the Heart Lives Prologue to parts Seventeen can be found in the repost section of this board:
viewthread?forum=repost-fan-fiction&id=16876



Raychell 75, roswellluver, frenchkiss 70:
Thanks for the great feedback! I always look forward to reading it!

Angelalien:
Max is about to get the surprise of his life in the next part. And as for the stones, I plan on letting Liz take them with her... but that will be for another part.

Strawbehrry Shortcake:
I'm glad you like my version of the granilith. It just seems like there has to be more to it than just a powerful piece of machinery if everyone wants it. And as much as I love Alex, I really love Jesse for Isabel even more, so he has to be a part of this story!

PART EIGHTEEN


At first it seemed to Liz that the hole in the ground she had just entered was completely dark, but as her eyes adjusted she could see that it was dimly lit by billions of tiny filaments. These tiny lights were just enough to provide illumination for the narrow stairway and passageways she and Future Max had to traverse. Max led her by dozens of rooms but entered none of them. His destination was slightly further away.

Finally, after Liz felt completely lost in the cavernous tunnels and pathways, they entered a large grotto. It was well lit and appeared almost metallic in substance. And every inch of wall space was taken up by the same symbols she had seen in Nasedo's cave. "So, this is it," Liz said looking about her in awe. "This is the cave Alex was talking about, and this is where Jesse and his father studied." She was so overwhelmed that she didn't know where to begin.

"Well, it's about time someone showed up," said a voice from nearby. Startled, Liz looked around until she saw a middle-aged man standing toward the left side of the grotto. "I've been waiting nearly a year, you know."

"I know you," Liz said, "you're Max's boss…I mean, you used to own the UFO Center before Brody Davis bought it."

"Milton Andrew Ross at your service, ma'am," he replied with a grin and a slight bow.

"Are you alive and somehow taking part in my vision or are you a guardian spirit like Max?" she asked him.

"Oh, I'm very much alive, my dear."

"Then how did you get here?" she asked.

"Well now, I got here the same way you did, I guess," he replied giving her a playful pat on her arm, "best way to go on a free vacation."

Liz grinned at him. "I hadn't thought about it that way, but now that you mention it…" She winked at him. What a charmer Milton was. Liz knew she always liked him. And, if he was here on a vision quest in this particular place then that might mean he could be an asset to the growing group of the "I Know a Czechoslovakian Club".

"Not to change the subject or anything, but I don't know how long this vision will last and I need to get as much done as possible. Is there a way to contact you during the waking world? I think we may need your help."

"Is the one claiming to be Nasedo gone?" he asked somewhat apprehensively.

"Yah," she told Milton. "He was killed by one of the skins. We think it was Vanessa Whitaker."

"And our renegade bride?"

"Tess? She's also dead," Liz replied. "She died after giving birth to Justin, our child of war."

"Really? The child has been born and our enemies are deceased? This is wonderful news," he told her. "Hmm, let's see…I think I can be back in Roswell in about a week. How's about that?"

"That would be wonderful," smiled Liz. In the back of her mind there was always the thought that they must prepare for war and this thought meant to her that they must collect every bit of information and every person that could help them. It was probably a residual sense of urgency she had from Future Max's memories."

"Excellent. Well, in that case I better get going. I have plans to make," Milton said rubbing his hands together. His body then began to quiver and become slightly transparent.

"Wait!" Liz cried. She could tell he was about to leave the vision from his end. "I just have one more question."

"I'll see you all soon, my dear," he said before vanishing entirely.

Liz stared in disappointment at the place where he once stood and that's when she saw it - a small oddly shaped stone just like the ones she had been collecting. She picked it up and turned it around until she could read what it said. "I don't believe it," she told Future Max, "I've seen this symbol before in Mr. Ross's office. It was like, the emblem he had on everything…his letterheads, his business cards, everything. I think this symbol represents him. If the granilith left this for us to find then it must mean it wants him to be a part of everything that's going on. It means he's supposed to help us."


*****************************
For Max, seeing Justin had been love at first sight. He thought Justin was just the most darling wonderful little boy there ever was and it was hard for him to even think about leaving him behind when he went home. But River Dog and Liz were correct. The Apache reservation was the safest place for him to be. So after Max had worn Justin out with playing, he had fed him his bottle and put the little boy down for a nap. And then he walked away. He knew he would come back as soon as possible but it was still heart-wrenching to have to leave him now that he had finally found him.

He walked away, his thoughts slowly turning back to his soul mate, Liz Parker. He still couldn't fathom what she had done for the granilith that disturbed her so much, but he had a sneaking hunch that it had something to do with him. He hoped that she would be able to tell him soon because he was very worried about her.

At last he reached Nasedo's cave. He walked inside and found Liz sitting on the floor wrapped in a sleeping bag. She faced the fire before her, eyes closed and unmoving. "Liz?" he said trying to find out if she was okay. When she didn't respond he bent down and touch her cheek softly. "Liz?" he said again. She still remained unresponsive. He would have been more worried but she was breathing and her skin was still pink, so that meant she was okay, right?

As he looked more closely he could see that she was holding the necklace from her dream. It was clutched tightly in her hands and was giving off a glow that reminded him of fire. It struck him as so odd that the stones always appeared to hang upon nothing that he wanted to examine them more closely. They were a mystery and he felt they might be a part of whatever it was Liz refused to talk about. So, he reached out a hand to touch them hoping that he might at least get flashes from them.

As soon as he did so he was transported into Liz's vision. He could see his Liz kneeling in the middle of the grotto examining something on the ground, and there was a man with her she was animatedly talking to.

"No, look," he heard her say, "I can prove it." She took the man's hand and placed something in it. Immediately a brilliant glow emitted from his hand. "You see," she said triumphantly, " with these anyone can come here at any time. We can go where we need to go at any time and we don't have to worry about safety factors or cost or anything. And if all of us work on this together we should have no problem finding out what we need to know."

The man, who's back was still turned to Max, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he placed the small object back into Liz's hand. "It's easy to see why the granilith chose you, Liz," he told her. "It never occurred to us to look for answers here in my time. There were so many things we didn't know. We wasted so much time…"

"Don't say that. Okay? Your life wasn't a waste of time," Liz responded quickly. "How could you regret what we had together? Those memories are what's kept me going every time things got to be too much to deal with. Like when Alex died…

"Don't you get it? You loved me and believed in me and it made me believe in myself even when no one else would. And whenever I felt lonely or hurt I would remember our life together and it gave me a peace inside." She stopped speaking when her eyes started to fill with tears and the lump in her throat prevented her from saying any more.

"Shh, Liz it's okay. I didn't mean it that way. Please don't cry," the man told her. He wiped the tear from her cheek and kissed her forehead.

Although Max had never dream-walked anyone before he was sure that's what must be happening. But nothing he saw made any sense. Who was Liz talking to and what did she mean and what the heck was another man doing kissing her? It made him uncomfortable to see her with another man. He wished he could ask her about what he'd seen, but Isabel had said the dreamers hardly ever knew anyone had entered their dream with them. Still it wouldn't hurt to try. At the very least he might be able to distract Liz from the other man she was obviously with.

Max stepped out of the shadows of the large open cavern and into the light. "Liz?" he called to her.

"Max?" she asked in surprise, unsure of how Max could have entered the vision. "What are you doing here?" She felt a little bit guilty because she knew he must have seen Future Max just kiss her.

Max was shocked that she was aware of his presence in her dream. 'Well, that blows Izzy's theory out of the water,' he thought to himself. "You fell asleep back at Nasedo's cave. I'm dream-walking you," he told Liz.

"Oh…um…Max, this isn't a dream. It's a vision," she replied apprehensively. He had caught her at a very awkward moment and she didn't know how much he had seen or how much she would need to explain to him, but this was probably going to be the moment of truth. She hoped she was ready for it and that Max would take it well. "Max, I'd like you to meet my visitor from the future who helped me to change our timeline. This is my spirit guide. Max meet…Max."

At that Future Max arose and turned around.

TBC



Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that some great photographs of Machu Picchu can be found at the following site:
http://www.raingod.com/angus/Gallery/Photos/SouthAmerica/Peru/IncaTrail.html

[ edited 2 time(s), last at 31-Jan-2002 12:47:47 AM ]