She was aware of that contradiction, but it didn't trouble her. The logic of dreams made it all perfectly clear.

And this was a good dream. Liz would not question it.

Max was coming and he would explain everything. Then she had something to tell him.

After a few moments of waiting, he entered the room. Liz could see his perpetually serious expression soften for a moment when he saw her. Something flashed in his eyes and across his face. Liz was sure there was no single word for that expression, but she knew it was good.

She was also sure that something similar passed across her own face.

Then Max's control was back and his expression grim. "Liz, we need to talk," he said simply.

It was then that Liz realized that she didn't want to talk. There had been too much talk. Three years of discussion. Three years of worry.

A voice inside her said, None of that has happened yet. You are not with Max yet. You are with Kyle.

It was easy to push the voice down. It was even easier to lean into Max and kiss him. He responded immediately.

Of course, he was her… boyfriend. The word seemed much too small for what he was to her, but it would have to suffice until… until what? Until that changed, sometime in the future. Not the future of the dream, Liz realized, but the future of her waking now.

Even in her dream state, Liz was aware of the difference between her dream reality and the reality that awaited her when she woke up.

It was another contradiction that didn't trouble Liz as she kissed him more deeply. He pulled her to him.

They were done with questions, problems, and issues.

Finally, they had found their answer. Liz was sure she had found hers, and she held him tightly.

Her awareness shifted to the real world, which she felt hovering above her like the surface of the water when you were under it. A hand brushed her cheek. Max's hand, she was sure.