Accident Prone 145 Liz and Isaac talk about Max

In Max's apartment…

Liz and Max are holding each other and kissing on the bed in the master bedroom.

"My dad… the living room…", Liz said between kisses, reminding Max that her father is right behind those doors. She is reminding Max, but still clinging onto him. Max's kisses are that good.

Max groaned in protest. Do they really need to stop? After so many days, Liz finally loosened up and Max feels that they are almost back to the 'touching' status.

"Let him wait.", he mumbled before kissing her again.

Liz giggled. "I thought you are tired."

Liz's words reminded Max that he kind of promised to Isaac that he will give him privacy to talk to Liz. And with that man sitting in the living room they can't do much. Liz will never allow it.

Max closed his eyes and pouted for a second before forcing the words out of him: "Yeah… I need�� rest."

"Do you want me to give you company?", Liz offered.

Max smiled. He likes that even with her father who came all the way from New York, Liz wants to stay with him. 

He screamed internally: 'Of course, I want your company!', but he reminded himself that her dad is here, and they have a situation. Also, her dad does not seem to be willing to leave before he gets his answers so… "No need. Go and talk to your father. I'm sure that he wants to talk to you."

That reminded Liz… "Right. I want to find out why is he here."

"I am more interested to find out when is he leaving.", Max admitted.

"I will make sure to ask that." Liz gave a quick kiss to Max and scooted off the bed.

…

In the living room, Isaac is standing next to the large floor to ceiling window and staring blankly at the view of Seattle while his mind is running through different scenarios related to Liz and Max and how can he find out the details without upsetting Liz. 

He reminded himself that Liz wants to be independent and to make her own choices, and if she feels that he is trying to control her or that is hovering too much… it will not end well.

Isaac turned at the sound of the door closing softly. How much Liz stayed inside, Isaac worried that Liz will sleep off with Max, if he is sleeping… Or what if they were… Isaac does NOT want to think about the possibility of his daughter being intimate with that man. Or with any man. She is his baby girl! Regardless of her age.

No matter how Isaac looks at Liz, he can't deny that she looks happy.

"Will you finally tell me why you are here?", Liz asked when she stepped into the living room.

Isaac sighed. Liz is not the one to let it slide. But he knows that he can't avoid it, so he decided on a half-truth, but he will start softly. "Can't a father visit his daughter?"

Liz tilted her head slightly. "Yes. But you, visiting on a Friday, without announcing yourself previously… things don't add up."

Isaac nodded. Here is the half-truth part: "I am aware that your progress at work is slower than expected, and then you called me on Sunday from the hospital in Hawaii. I didn't think much about it until I found out that you are not going to work. I was worried."

"Why didn't you call me?"

Isaac was ready for this: "I know that you don't want to disrupt my work, so even if you are injured, you would conceal it."

Liz continued probing: "If you are worried that I would conceal it, why didn't you call Dr. Snow, or Chairman Lee?"

"I did.", Isaac admitted (partially). "Chairman Lee is the one who told me that you are not coming to work."

"And he could have told you that I am not on a sick leave. I am using vacations."

"He did. And that got me even more worried because since I know you; you would never take time off for a… vacation."

Liz stifled a laugh. "You have answers to everything, don't you?"

"Of course, I do. I am your father. Well, I see that you are fine. But I am surprised that you have a boyfriend, and now that I am here I hope you will tell me more about him and your relationship."

Liz can see that something is off, but she can't put her finger on it. She gestured to Isaac to sit. 

"Max treats me well, and I am having fun.", Liz said. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Are you two serious?", Isaac asked and held his breath.

"I don't know how to answer that question. I am not thinking about a marriage, and I am quite sure that he is not thinking about it either."

Isaac frowned. "So, is this a fling?"

Liz sighed. She does not know how to answer this, or maybe she does... "No. I like him, and I know that he likes me as well. We met when I came to Seattle and that is not long ago. We have things in common, he makes me laugh and I feel safe with him. I don't know where this relationship is going, but it's too early to think about anything long term." 

"You are not sure if this is long term, yet you took a week off from work because his back is aching…", Isaac mused at loud with a goal to get more information.

Liz can see that her dad is being sneaky. Why is he not asking straightforwardly? But she will still provide him with an explanation. "I guess I need to tell you. You were right when you said that I would conceal things in order not to worry you."

Isaac straightened his back and perked up his ears. This is what he was waiting for! He listened intently to Liz while she spoke…

"When I called you from Hawaii, I was in the hospital with Max. On Sunday we went hiking up a mountain and I slipped off the trail. Max pulled me on him, and he took the impact while cushioning my fall. That is why he is hurt. Thanks to him, I ended up with only few scratches while he sprained his back and has horrible bruises… and he was lucky. Spending few vacation days to take care of him is the least I can do."

Isaac paused while thinking about Liz's words. He knows that this is just a short summary because Liz always preferred to deal with things on her own. Even during her high school and college he was finding out about her outstanding achievements while talking to her professors and mentors because updates from Liz were: 'Everything is fine'.

"Do you have his medical records?"

Liz knows that Isaac wants to confirm her story, and she has nothing to hide. 

Ten minutes later…

Isaac closed the folder with medical files Liz gave him and kept it on the coffee table in front of him.

Isaac is confused. His first impression of Max was exceptionally good to the point of him wishing that Max is Liz's boyfriend, but then when he found out that Max IS Liz's boyfriend, the words from Chris came to his mind and everything got jumbled. And then he confirmed that Max is scheming, but he did it so that he can get Liz and Isaac to talk and now it seems that Max sacrificed himself for Liz.

Isaac is not sure what to think. He needs more information and it seems that all the negative feelings sprouted from his talk with Christian Snow.

"How is your relationship with Christian?"

Liz was surprised with this change of topic. Why is her dad asking about him? "OK."

Isaac didn't miss that Liz's mood dropped. "Last time we spoke, you told me that you are having lunches with him. And you were excited that you can exchange ideas. Did something happen?"

Liz glanced toward the door of the master bedroom where Max is. "Dr. Snow told me that he is interested in me. And I rejected his advances."

"Does he know that you are dating Max?"

Liz shrugged indicating that she is not sure. "We are keeping our interaction to a professional one. Anything else?"

Isaac understood that Liz does not want to talk about Christian Snow further. 

But he needs to find out more. There are so many gaps. Ah, sometimes he wishes that Liz is a fragile girl who would run to her daddy for every little thing. Then he would know what is going on.

His sight fell on the folder with medical files related to Max's hospital stay from Hawaii. "That must have been quite a fall. Considering that you were in a jungle, you were lucky that the helicopter found you."

"Mia and Hunter waved them down to confirm location."

Isaac was surprised. "Mia was there?"

Liz confirmed. "Hunter is Max's brother and Mia's fiancé. We were in Hawaii for Hunter's birthday."

Isaac knows Mia, but not well enough to concern himself with things like if she is engaged or not. But he picked up the reason behind Liz's trip to Hawaii. "You celebrated birthday of Max's brother?" 

"Their family celebrates birthdays by traveling together. Other than few Hunter's friends, their parents and older sister were also there."

Isaac could not hide his surprise. "Parents? You met Max's parents?"

"Yes."

"And spent the weekend with them in Hawaii?"

"Yes." Liz didn't understand why Isaac looks upset about this.

Isaac slumped in the sofa chair. The more Isaac found out, the more things didn't make sense. Why is his opinion of Max changing so drastically every few minutes? How can Max be a bad company who is taking advantage of Liz and at the same time he introduced her to his family? Isn't introducing your romantic partner to the family a step where relationship becomes serious? And Liz said that she does not know if they are serious! Also… Why is he excluded? How come Liz spent the weekend with Max's family, yet Isaac found out that she has a boyfriend accidentally? And what is that about Christian making a move on Liz and she rejecting him?

He needs time to think.

Isaac looked at Liz. "I am tired." He stood up and gestured down the hallway with several doors, which are obviously bedrooms. "Where can I rest?"

"Uhm… not here."

Isaac frowned. "You have at least three spare bedrooms. Why can't I use one to rest?" 

He also wanted to bring up that Max is in one of the bedrooms and Liz didn't make any issues with him sleeping over.

Liz blinked. She realized that Isaac thinks how this is her place. Well, it's time to fix that misunderstanding: "This is not my apartment."

"What?"

"This is Max's apartment and I am not free enough to offer you one of his bedrooms to rest. My apartment is across the hallway. You can rest there." Liz stood up and gestured toward the exit. "Come, let he show you."

Isaac followed Liz robotically. He definitely needs time to think about things. 

Well, this explains why Max is so relaxed in this apartment and why he went to the bedroom like it's normal. 

Ah, and Isaac thought that Max is so freely going to Elizabeth's bedroom. Maybe he is not such a wolf after all…

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