"I don't like the looks they keep giving us. Max, I'm just gonna walk by their table, and if they just accidentally spill their food all over themselves at the same time … well, it would just be a coincidence. Right?" he smirked with his eyes twinkling at the image. He began to get up from his seat just as Liz walked over to get their order.

"Hi, guys. Do you know what you want?" she asked. She looked at Max directly while she asked. He got her meaning, looked her straight in the eyes, and replied, "I'll have a First Contact, no onions." Liz laughed lightly and moved her hand to cover her mouth. She forgot she was holding her pencil, and it slipped out of her fingers. Max and Liz leaned over at the same time to pick it up. They were so close they could feel each other's breath on their faces. "A First Contact burger?" she repeated. Max picked the pencil off the ground, and slowly each one got back up. When he handed it back to her, her fingers touched his lightly and she let them linger a little longer than she had to. Michael interrupted their interlude, "I'll just have a Borg Combo Platter. You know what they say, resistance is futile." She took one more glance at Max's deep brown eyes, "Don't I know it."

She would have stayed at that table all night long if she could, but it was too busy. There were only two other waitresses on duty, Maria and Agnes, and Agnes really didn't even count anyway. She had to get back to work. She walked back towards the kitchen to place Max and Michael's order and pick up one for another table. Liz and Maria had been doing this for so long, they knew each other's motions and worked very well together when it got busy.

Max watched Liz as she exited the kitchen. She was carrying an order to a table for a family of five. She almost crashed into Maria on her way to the table, but she caught herself and just stuttered a little bit. This restaurant was definitely not big enough for all the business it had been getting lately. But Liz had such poise. The kids were screaming and throwing things at each other. The parents were trying to make room for their plates so Liz had some room to put them down, and she handled it with such ease. She could keep her cool in crazy situations. Max smiled to himself as he watched the two boy children pushing and shoving one another. They couldn't be more than 7 or 8 years old. Finally, one of them blurted out to Liz, "My brother Brad likes you! Will you marry him?" Liz laughed and said, "Oh, I don't think we can do that yet. How would all the other girls feel if I married you before they had a chance?" Brad looked up at her and nodded with all the wisdom of his 8 years and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. That wouldn't be fair. You're not mad are you?" She smiled down at him, "I think I'll be OK." The parents smiled at her graciously and Liz turned around to walk back towards the kitchen.

Liz could feel the penetrating stare of someone's eyes on her. She looked up and saw Kyle watching her. He smiled. For a moment she felt sorry for him. He didn't really understand why she broke up with him. Kyle thought it was because of Max. He didn't realize the problems with their relationship were with them, not some outside force. They had fun together, in the beginning, but it just became too much of a routine. She wanted to be more than a trophy on someone's arm. She wanted to be Liz Parker, not just Kyle Valenti's girlfriend. Max saw the way Kyle watched Liz. In a way, Max was envious of Kyle, because Kyle didn't have a deep, dark secret threatening his life and the lives of everyone who knew him. He was just your average 16-year old guy with friends, girl problems, and an ordinary life. "At least Kyle is 'normal' and can't get Liz killed," Max thought.