Bounty Hunter

By Becky(rttavi)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Isabel Evans heard the noise again, although this time it wasn't nearly as loud. Or maybe she was just closer to it. She let her breath out slowly and closed her eyes willing her ears to work harder.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Maria whispered and halted her walk forcing Michael to stop with her.

He shrugged afraid to say anything out loud.

"Listen," Maria put her finger to her lips.

Michael cocked his head to one side as a barely audible snap seemingly blared across the night sky. He looked at Maria and was relieved when her eyes were as wild as his were. She was an adrenaline junkie too. The thrill of the chase was on.

He nodded and pulled her in the direction of the noise and hoped against hope it wasn't Isabel they were tracking. He kept his free hand out in front of them, pushing back branches and brush with a sudden need to make sure Maria didn't get hurt. Although he wasn't surprised when she found her place next to him and held back her own foliage.

They had only traveled a short distance when Michael stopped and pulled Maria back. He put his finger to his lips as she had minutes earlier, and pointed.

"Shit," Maria muttered under her breath. She looked in the direction she thought Michael was pointing in and heard another snap of twigs. "Go." She prodded him with a finger in the stomach.

* * *

Max Evans stumbled into the dark woods while constantly wiping blood from his nose. He was pretty sure by this time it was indeed broken because it hurt like hell. Not that he could blame Michael for punching him, he had, after all, kidnapped a bounty hunter and helped a felon.

"Are you insane?" He asked himself seconds before he tripped over an exposed tree root. He fell to his knees and felt said root skin rip through the knee of his pants. "Damn it!"

Max stood on shaky knees lost in the lack of judgement he had endured since he had received the phone call from Liz Parker. A girl he knew in high school. A girl he had a wild crush on. A girl that he hadn't had any contact with for eight years. But still a girl he would break laws for.

With a deep breath, Max Evans stumbled back into the darkness with the hope of finding Liz Parker and helping her get out of town before the other's found her. Being a student of the mind, he knew where he feelings were coming from and there was nothing he could do to change them. It was all summed up into two words: human nature.

* * *

Isabel cursed a plane overhead; she was trying to listen to the noises around her but the roaring engine from above was distorting her hearing. She opened her eyes and caught a flash of light; she sucked in a deep breath and tried to zero in on the flash. Flash of light or flash of silver? She wasn't sure. Could possibly be a flash of jewelry, or a gun? With a staggered step, she bent down lower and stalked towards the flash of light. Or silver. Or metal.

She heard footsteps and a whisper? The plane was gone but Isabel's ears weren't honing in the way she hoped they would. She kept her long body low and cursed her height.

* * *

Michael licked his bottom lip; his body filling with the adrenaline rush he loved. As the moon peeked out from behind a dark cloud, he looked at the bounty hunter beside him, working with him and smiled. This is how it was meant to be. A plane overhead made them stop in their tracks.

"So," he whispered wetly in her ear using the camouflage of the plane's engine to cover his words. "I was thinking."

"Oh yeah?" Maria whispered back.

"I know you didn't like here in Roswell when you got here."

She nodded and remembered her soliloquy of annoyance upon her arrival in Roswell. How things change , she mused.

His voice was low and wet. "But I think it would be in everyone's best interest for you to stay here. You're not leaving Roswell, you know that? You got my heart so don't think you're going to drag it off to San Francisco. You're staying right here with me. Right?"

She nodded before she could stop herself. In a moment when she should be hot on the trail of a little woman who had slipped her twice, Maria DeLuca was wondering what a life in the seventh circle of hell with Michael Guerin would be like. She wondered if her Angelfish would like it in Roswell.

"Good," Michael kissed her earlobe.

"Can we go get my bounty now?"

"Your bounty?" Michael whispered as his lips met hers. "I think Liz Parker is our bounty, babe."

A flash of light about twenty yards away caught the attention of both of them. The light flickered once then went out. Maria grabbed Michael by the hand and pulled him through the brush trampling everything underfoot.

* * *

Isabel Evans saw a figure off tot he side of her and panicked. She wished she had Michael with her; although he may annoy the hell out of her, she could depend on him. And as Isabel was learning, there weren't a lot of people in this world that she could depend on. Her brother was on that list.

An Oak tree in front of her became her shield as she tried to figure out what to do. Bracing the sides of the enormous trunk with her hands, she tapped at the bark until she realized she was making noise. She damned herself for breaking the first rule in bounty hunting: Do not draw attention to yourself.

The light was back and it was indeed a light. A very thin beam of a flashlight was hitting the ground first on one side of the tree and then the other sending Isabel into a near panic. Before she could talk herself out of it, she took a deep breath and jumped around the tree to face whoever was there.

* * *

"There!" Michael whispered excitedly as the light reappeared a few yards in front of them.

They raced towards the light and bound into a small clearing, the first person they saw was Isabel with the thin beam of light trained on her face. The next person they saw was the one holding what appeared to be a penlight, Max Evans.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Michael exclaimed. "Iz?"

"Michael?" Isabel held her hand over her face, shading her eyes and turned to look at the duo that had arrived.

"Michael?" Max asked and turned the light on him and Maria.

"Max!" Isabel shouted with anger in her voice.

"Liz," Maria smirked and stepped out of the direct line of light from Max's penlight and nodded towards a hollowed out tree trunk a few feet away from her. She pointed at the base of the trunk where a pair of white sneakers seemed to glow in the darkened rotten wood around them.

* * *


Chapter Twenty Nine

Max turned the penlight away from Michael and pointed it at Maria. She kicked at the white sneakers and heard a muffled yelp. "Get out of the tree, Parker." She whacked the trunk with her palm.

"This is crazy," Michael shook his head and took his place next to Maria.

"Liz?" Max stepped towards the tree trunk, his penlight guiding him. "Are you okay? Liz?"

Isabel stood in back of her brother, anger in her breath. "You are in serious shit Max." She whispered hotly in his ear. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"But it… It was for Liz," he turned to face her, pity mounting in his voice.

Isabel narrowed her eyes at her brother who had dried blood around his nose and mercy in his eyes. She fought the urge to punch him in the face the same way she was sure Michael had. He may be her brother, but tonight, he was her enemy.

"I don't give a shit who it was Max!" She hissed. "You broke laws, you could and no doubt should go to jail!"

"But…" He stammered on his words until his attention was drawn in back of him again.

Maria had both of her arms down the inside of the hollowed out trunk. She had hair grasped in her hands and she knew without a doubt it was red. "I'm serious Parker, get your ass out here right freaking now!"

"You're hurting me!" Came the muffled whine from inside the trunk. "Leggo my hair!"

With a quick smile, Michael knelt on the ground. He tapped Liz Parker on the leg. "Liz. Bend down and get the fuck out of the tree, okay? You're caught. You're busted. You're going to jail." He looked up at Maria and winked. "Let's get a move on, I got better things to do tonight." He stood and laid his hands on Maria's arms. "Let go of her hair."

Maria did so reluctantly after one more quick yank. She looked to Michael and shrugged before taking a step away from the tree. She threaded her arm through Michael's and winked.

Liz Parker emerged from the hollowed out tree trunk dirty and on her knees. She stood and brushed off her knees before facing anyone.

"Liz?" Max tried to take a step towards her but felt hands on his biceps holding him back. Isabel. He shown his light on the delicate, smudged face of Liz Parker. "Are you okay?"

She faced him and nodded. "I'm sorry Max, I should have never dragged you into this."

Maria watched as Max Evans turned from the sniveling kidnapper to the guy with the great smile. She shook her head in disgust.

"I'm sorry it didn't work…" Max shook his head. "I was stupid-"

"Yeah Max, you were." Michael interrupted and faced his friend. "You do realize that kidnapping is illegal, don't you?"

"She informed me of that already," Max motioned to Maria. "I'm sorry."

Maria opened her mouth to speak as they small group was assaulted with headlights heading in from two directions.

"They're here!" Liz screamed and turned to run taking only one step into the darkness before being tackled from behind by Maria.

"Get out!" Isabel pulled Michael to her. "Take her and get out of here!"

Without hesitation, Michael lurched forward and grabbed Maria by the waist and pulled her to her feet. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Not without Parker!" Maria reached down to the fallen felon and pulled her to her feet by her elbow. "Come on!"

"They're going to kill me!" Liz whined and stumbled over her own feet as Maria pulled her through the woods.

"If you don't shut the hell up, I'm going to kill you!" Maria whispered harshly in her ear.

"Now!" Michael shouted, he was a few feet in front of them running towards the parking lot and breaking down the brush before Maria and Liz got to it.

Maria kept her grip tight on Liz's arm, she was sure she was leaving a bruise, but she couldn't seem to care. Her feet hurt and the only thing that kept her running was knowing that it was almost over. The hunt for Liz Parker was over and something strangely new was getting ready to begin with Michael Guerin.

"I'm sorry," Liz cried while tripping over unearthed roots. "I'm sorry."

"Shut up and keep running," Maria saw a light up ahead and knew they were close to the parking lot. The parking lot. One more added reason to hate Liz Parker was that any shared moments in parking lots were going to be put on hold until this Parker thing was closed.

"Come on!" Michael called from the edge of the woods. "Isabel's car, now!"

Maria nodded and pulled Liz along to the car and flung her in the backseat before following her in and slamming the door. "Go!"

Michael started the car as the passenger door opened and Max Evans jumped in. "What the fuck?"

"Take the 380," Max barked and swung around in the seat. "Are you okay?"

Michael took a deep breath, "Where is Isabel?"

"She's fine," Max pointed to inbound flashlights. "Go!"

Maria rolled her eyes and slipped off her shoes. "Where is Isabel?" She leaned on the back of Max's seat.

"She's fine, she took off the other way-" He was interrupted by a cell phone ringing.
Michael swore and pulled his phone out of his back pocket as gravel and dust spewed out in back of his tires. He flipped the phone in the backseat to Maria.

"Yeah?" Maria listened and nodded, "But you are okay? And you have keys?"

"Isabel?" Max asked.

Maria answered him with her middle finger. "No, we're getting the hell out of Dodge. San Fran baby, I'm dumping her in the City by the Bay." Maria laughed and turned the phone off.

"She's okay?" Michael asked looking in the rearview mirror at Maria.

"She's fine," Maria answered. "And we should be back to see her in about three days. As soon as we drop off Dumb in San Fran, we can bring Dumber back with us and…"

"And…." Michael licked his lips and returned his eyes to the road.

Maria DeLuca sank back into the plush of the backseat and grinned. Only about twelve hundred miles to go. One way. Maria relished in the idea of how many parking lots there were between Roswell New Mexico and San Francisco California.

* * *

Chapter Thirty

The highway onramp seemed like a good time for Maria to begin her interrogation. They had a long ride ahead of them and she believed it might be best to just get a few things out in the open.

"So Liz," Maria turned to face her backseat companion. "Who was that back there?"

"Weren't you listening to me?" Liz snapped. "I told you they were going to find me and kill me."

"Right, the bad guys," Maria narrowed her eyes. "How did they find you?"

Liz shrugged, but it wasn't convincing.

"Damn it, just answer her!" Michael, apparently listening to the conversation, snapped from the front seat.

"I don't know!" Liz shouted before she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her attention to the window and the passing darkness.

"Liz,"' Max turned around in his seat to face her. "Are you okay?" The concern in his voice was overpowering.

"No Max," she leaned forward. "I'm not okay. I'm getting ready to go to jail, how would you feel?"

"Yeah Max," Maria's eyes twinkled. "Since you're going to jail too, how do you feel?"

Max turned to his friend for help but was turned down with silence.

"Leave him alone," Liz faced Maria, her voice small and weak. "He didn't do anything wrong, it was me. Just promise me that Max won't get any retribution for helping me."

Maria tilted her head to one side seeing a different side of Liz. A side with a little compassion for her helper. Maybe Liz Parker wouldn't only try to save her own ass, but Max's too. Human nature in its equality.

"So DeLuca," Michael called back from the front seat, "San Francisco and not Montana?"

"If I can get her back to Frisco I'm good, I get paid and she'll be off of my hands." Maria cast a sideways glance at Liz. "So again, Parker, how did they find you? Do you actually deserve the name Dumb?"

"Yes," Liz glared, "As a matter of fact I do. I used my stupid credit card yesterday. I guess that's how they found me."

"You are such a bad criminal," Maria rolled her eyes and crossed her legs wishing desperately for some different clothing. "Is that how you planned on running and hiding by using your credit card? God, haven't you ever watched any TV show before?"

"I had to," Liz said quietly, she averted her eyes away from Maria and away from Max.

"Liz?" Max reached over and touched her arm. "What's going on?"

Liz Parker wiped at her dry eyes. "I used the credit card for a plane ticket. I was going to leave in the morning."

"Yeah, you were going to leave in the morning all right." Michael snorted. "Probably in a body bag, though."

"I swear, if I had my stun gun I'd shock the shit out of you," Maria shook her head.

"I told you, I'm not a criminal!" Liz pleaded. "I was leaving because I didn't want to see Max get hurt, he's been so nice to me…"

"And I'm sure he'll come see you on visiting days," Maria stretched her legs out in front of her.

"I was scared, I'm still scared."

"I have to interject something here," Michael said from the front seat. "Maybe this was already discussed during your bout of kidnapping, but Liz, if you have all this cash, why didn't you just run with it? Why the hell are you using a credit card?"

"I don't have the money anymore. I only had it for a brief time." She explained to Michael the way she thought she had been used as a scapegoat and ignored the deep sighs and incessant eye rolling coming from Maria.

"So where is the money?" Michael asked a question that Maria never had.

"I gave it away."

"You gave it away?" Michael smiled into the rearview mirror. "Why?"

"It wasn't mine and the people it actually belonged to were bad, so I gave it away to a good cause."

"And what cause was that?" Maria yawned her boredom.

"That's why I was in San Francisco, I donated it all to Save the Sea Turtles."

Maria snickered then closed her eyes. "Wake me when we're at least a hundred miles away from here, okay? I have to get some different clothes on."

* * *

"Maria?" Michael leaned over the driver's seat. "Maria!"

"What?" Maria DeLuca's eyes snapped open. She looked at Michael in front of her and then turned to see a sleeping Liz Parker next to her. She sighed and pulled the straps of her dress up. "Oh. Where are we?"

"Socorro," Max answered. "About a hundred and sixty miles outside of Roswell."

Maria nodded and sat up; she looked out her window and saw they were parked in a parking lot of an all-night discount department store. "Michael," she smiled sweetly at him. "Can I have some money for some new clothes?"

Without hesitation, Michael handed her his wallet. "Try not to break the bank."

She winked at him and placed her hand on the door handle. "Come on Max, you're coming with me. Michael, I think you should hang out back here in case Dumb decides to wake up and try to run away."

"Would you quit calling her that!" Max snapped in a heated whisper.

"Nope, give Michael your wallet."

Max started to protest but then relinquished his wallet to Michael without question. He got out of the car and met Maria on the other side. They walked into the store together, Maria with her finger hooked in the belt loop of his pants.

She walked straight to the ladies' department and picked out a pair of khaki shorts, a black tank shirt and a white button down short sleeve shirt. She pulled Max to the shoes and then had him carry a pair of white sneakers while she picked out socks. At the register, she grabbed four cold bottles of soda and a handful of candy bars.

She paid with a credit card of Michael's and was relieved when it went through.
At the front doors she noticed a restroom and pulled Max into it after much protesting.

"I don't trust you," she said evenly and reached around to unzip the back of her dress. "Turn around."

Max turned around and waited until she told him to turn back before he did. "You really did look nice for our date."

Maria looked down at the dress over her arm. "Thanks, but it wasn't a real date."

"I know," Max smiled brilliantly at her. "So, I noticed in the car that you said after we drop Liz off in San Francisco that you'd be bringing 'Dumber' back to Roswell. I guess that means you're coming back?"

Maria nodded and hated the way his voice was so smooth. "Yeah, I'm coming back."

He nodded. "After seeing how you and Michael interact, I'd be shocked if you weren't. I think you just might be perfect for each other."

Maria fought a blush and pointed to the door. "Let's go."

* * *


Chapter Thirty One


"So, are you really going to have me arrested?" Max asked as he walked alongside Maria through the parking lot towards the car. "I couldn't help myself. I had to help her."

Maria stopped walking, aggravation prominent in her expression. She placed her hands on her hips and sighed before speaking. "Okay Max, you seem like an okay kind of guy. Why you ever chose to help her, I have no idea. No, I will not have you arrested for kidnapping but only because I really like your sister. If I didn't, then yes, you would go to jail."

"But you won't help Liz, will you?"

"No Max, I will not help her. She is a felon. Maybe if it had gone down a little differently and she didn't actually take the money, then maybe."

"She did give it away, its not like she kept it."

"That doesn't matter Max," she shook her head. "She made one mistake after another and she could have gotten us all killed tonight! I'll be honest, I didn't really think anyone was after her, but apparently they are. She made a bad situation worse."

"I know, but isn't there anything we can do to help her?"

Maria judged his request. It was obvious that his feelings were heartfelt and she hated the way it pinged at her heart. She had already gone against her beliefs by letting herself fall for Michael Guerin; she wasn't about to go against them again. She shook her head. "I don't think so. The best help she can get will be in custody."

Max nodded and looked towards his sister's car. "I guess I was just trying to help someone I used to really care about."

Maria nodded. She understood it was simple, Max Evans had fallen victim to human nature. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road. We have a lot of miles to cover before this is over."

Max nodded and followed her to the car. He opened up the backdoor and let Michael out, Liz was still asleep. "I'll sit in back with her."

Michael shook his head. "I don't think so."

"What am I going to do Michael? Hurl her out of a moving car?" Max looked to Maria for help and got her raised eyebrows for an answer. "Seriously? I just want to sleep. Okay? If you get tired and you want me to drive, I'll drive."

Max got in the backseat without a response and pulled Liz's sleeping body towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. Michael shut the door and ran his hands through his hair. "This is fucking crazy."

"I know," Maria stepped towards the back of the car and crooked her finger at Michael beckoning him to follow. She stepped to the rear of the car and outstretched her arms to him in an emotion she wasn't familiar with; need.

Michael stepped into her, his arms sliding around her waist, his face nuzzling into her neck. "You meant what you said, right?"

"About what?" She toyed with him and knew in an instant that she'd never grow tired of it.

"About not leaving Roswell, about not leaving me?" Michael lifted his head to face her and licked his lips. "You're not, right?"

"Well," she grinned and her eyes twinkled. "No Guerin, I'm not going anywhere. Do you know where a soon to be out of work bounty hunter can get a job in Roswell?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, I have a good idea."

"Then c'mere and kiss me," she placed her hands on the back of his head and lowered his face to hers, their lips met and shocks ran through her.

Michael held her tight against him. The animalistic fervor he had felt with her on their previous encounters was melding with something stronger, something permanent. Something he wasn't about to let go of.

"We should get back on the road," she smiled into his mouth as she felt his hands on her ass.

Michael nodded and squeezed her ass once before stepping back from her. "You're right. The sooner we get her dropped off, the sooner we can get back home."

Maria nodded and realized that her home was going to be in Roswell. The city she deemed one of the circles of hell was going to be home. She could deal with that.

* * *

Michael was getting bored. They'd been on the road for hours and daylight was just thinking about making its appearance. A quick phone call to Isabel a few hours earlier put his mind at ease that she really was all right. He glanced at the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes at the sleeping figures of his friend Max and the felon Liz.

He looked next to him at the sleeping Maria DeLuca and smiled. The driving time alone was giving him plenty of time to contemplate everything he felt about her. He wasn't looking for anyone special when she bounded into his life with a killer body, a beautiful face and an attitude that rivaled his own. The last thing that Michael Guerin ever thought he'd want was now the only thing he wanted; sharing a life with someone he loved.

He rolled his eyes at himself and knew he was whipped, sappy and generally everything he hated in a man. But he didn't care. This was different. This was Maria DeLuca and she was his match. His perfect match.

Maria fought a yawn and sat up straighter in the front seat. She looked over her shoulder at Dumb and Dumber and declared them helpless before she cast a sideways glance at Michael. She thought he looked like he was in some type of inner struggle and wondered if it had anything to do with her. She prayed he wasn't rethinking what he said to her, about her, that would devastate her.

She reached a tentative hand to him and laid it on his denim-clad thigh. When he looked at her, she could read in his dashboard lit eyes that he wasn't having second thoughts.

"Do you want me to drive?" She whispered. "God, where are we?"

"Not too far outside of Flagstaff," Michael yawned. "On interstate 40."

"Flagstaff?" Maria's eyes went wide. "Don't tell me I've been sleeping for over five hours!"

"Sorry babe, you have." He yawned again. "I have to stop and get some caffeine, there's a rest stop coming up in about three exits. We're stopping for a few minutes."

Maria nodded and waited patiently as the mile markers went by. She looked again in the backseat at the sleeping felons as Michael pulled off the highway and parked in the lot of the nearly empty rest stop. He opened his door and got out, Maria followed. "Do you think we should leave them alone in there?" Michael asked dropping the
keys in his pocket.

Maria nodded as she met him on his side of the car. "They're not going anywhere. Let'em sleep, the less interaction I have with Dumb and Dumber, the better."

Michael cocked his head to one side as a breeze rippled through him. The heat of Roswell was replaced with a less humid temperature. In the moments before a new dawn when the world seemed asleep; Michael Guerin felt like him and Maria DeLuca were the only ones in it.

He took her by the hand and led her away from the car towards a picnic table underneath a tree with boughs hanging down nearly to the ground.

"Second thoughts?" He asked.

Maria shook her head. "You?"

Michael shook his head and grinned before pulling her into him.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Two

Michael's lips crashed down on Maria's, his tongue slid slowly into her mouth touching the tip of hers with a slow smooth passion. His hands roamed her back underneath her tank shirt, tracing delicate circles with nervous fingertips.

"I can't believe I said I'd give up my life, everything I've worked so hard for, for you," Maria tucked a few wild strands of hair behind his ear. "I barely even know you!"

Michael leaned back so he could gaze at her face, into her eyes. "You do know me Maria, I'm just like you."

She nodded and smiled while sliding her hands underneath his shirt and untucking it. She pulled it off over his head and dropped it in back of him. Her hands flew to his chest, searching out every curve of muscle, every goosebump that rose underneath her touch.

Michael's breath caught with her touch. A sensation of something powerful rippled through him. He couldn't stop himself, the sensitive passion was leaking away and a raw innate hunger was filling him. He pulled her button down shirt off of her and threw it to the ground. He lifted her tank shirt over her head with delicacy and then tossed it in back of him, a wicked grin spread across his lips.

Maria grinned back at him and reached for the clasp of his jeans as he reached for the button and zipper of her shorts. In unison, they unfastened and pulled down the only clothes keeping them apart. They stepped out of their pants and shorts leaning on each other and giggling.

"I feel like I'm in high school," Maria giggled as she leaned her bare ass against the picnic table.

"I don't think you feel like you're in high school," Michael licked his bottom lip and filled his hand with a bare breast.

She laughed and cast a glance over her shoulder at Isabel's car. "I swear if either of them wake up…"

Michael watched her; the barely breathing light from a new day was now only minutes away. Her body was hued in deep purples; a sallow glow from a distant streetlight outlined her in gold. Her hair was illuminated by a light that he couldn't identify, but it didn't matter. In that moment, Michael Guerin knew she was beautiful, and that he was so in love with her.

While his thumb glided over one newly perky nipple, his other hand caressed the soft spot of skin between her shoulder and neck turning her back to face him.

"I never knew there was someone like you out there," he whispered and pressed himself into her flesh. His hardness wedged in-between her legs, touching dampness.

"I didn't know you were looking," she parted her legs and edged her ass back up onto the picnic table.

"I wasn't," he leaned forward and kissed first one rosy nipple, then the other. He looked back into her eyes and saw the same want and need he knew was reflecting in his own.

"Me either," she whispered and crooked her legs behind his knees pulling him to her. "Me either."

Michael pressed against her and then into her. A sensation of utter contentment roared through him like wildfire. He felt her teeth rub against his chest, the chiseled bottoms tearing across his skin. He thrust deep into her until the thoughts of going straight through her made him pause.

Maria felt the ache of need float away from her. A life of solitude was slowly being replaced with fullness. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him deeper into her, bruising inside of her. She didn't care; she needed him to be as far inside of her as he could get.

A groan escaped Michael's lips and he began to rock against her, thrusting deep then deeper; his mouth stayed hungry on her neck.

Maria rocked with him, making a sweet simple sound somewhere between a moan and sigh with each thrust. She felt his mouth on her neck; the wetness of his saliva cooling her skin in the tepid breeze while inside of her burned.

The electricity in Michael's body couldn't be corralled. He pulled out of her while he still could and came down her leg, exhausting his body against hers. He met her eyes and frowned. "I couldn't stop it."

She kissed the tip of his nose. "I didn't want you to."

* * *

Chapter Thirty Three

Michael stayed pressed against her, his heavy breathing and uncontrolled emotions plastering into her.

"That was…" He shook his head and caught his breath. "I can't believe…"

"I know," Maria grinned and kissed his cheek. "Trust me, I know."

He smiled while his hands slid down her slick sides. "I guess we should get going, huh? Sooner we get there the sooner we get back?"

"Yeah," Maria broke completely away from him and pulled her shorts up, careful to avoid the sticky mess currently running down her thigh. She folded that side of her shorts up while Michael dressed. He handed her the tank shirt and watched her put it on in awe of her body. Her full breasts were covered and he was somewhat relieved, the temptation to touch her again was momentarily subsiding.

"I can't wait to get back," Michael murmured as he slid his T-shirt over his head.

"I'm going to go," she blushed as she motioned to her leg then pointed to the restrooms, "clean myself up."

Michael bit his bottom lip and watched her walk away; new feelings of completeness filled him. He watched her figure brighten underneath a light, the night giving way to the approaching sun cast her shadows dimly and Michael Guerin knew without a doubt that he'd be with her forever.

He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. "Un-fucking-believable."

* * *

Maria stood in the empty restroom and wiped her leg off with a wet paper towel. She caught her reflection in the mirror and noticed the difference. She no longer carried the image of being an alone bad ass bounty hunter. Now she was a bad ass bounty hunter in love. She was barely able to admit that to herself; she knew it'd take some time before she could say it out loud.

She shook her head as a smile appeared. "Un-fucking-believable."

She splashed some cold water on her face and washed her hands before leaving the restroom. Michael was waiting outside of the door for her, an icy can of something caffeinated in his hand.

"Did you get me one?" She asked and cocked her head to one side.

He shook his head slowly and took another swallow. "I thought I'd let you pick out what you wanted."

She grinned, he had answered correctly. They walked hand in hand to the vending machines and poured in enough quarters and dollar bills to get drinks and snacks for everyone.

"They have to wake up sometime, right?" Maria motioned towards the car.

They got in the car quietly and held hands as Michael left the rest stop and pulled back onto the highway.

Max Evans couldn't stop the sweet smile from gracing his lips.

* * *

Not too far outside of Flagstaff, they switched drivers and Maria took the wheel. She turned the radio up a little and rolled her window down as they were greeted with a beautiful morning.

"You know, we're only about seven hundred and fifty miles away from San Fran?" She slid her sunglasses on and looked over to Michael who was slowly giving way to exhaustion.

"That sounds like an awfully long time," he yawned.

"Nope, barely a little jump. We stay at seventy and we'll be there in about ten hours." She smiled thinking about getting back to San Francisco. About seeing her fish again.

"Ten hours," Michael slid his sunglasses on and reclined the seat a few inches. "How about you wake me up in a few hours? I really need to get some sleep."

"Sure thing," she looked over at him and grinned, "Babe."

Michael chuckled and folded his arms over his chest. Within minutes he was snoring lightly.

Maria turned the radio down a little and relaxed in her seat, ready for a long drive.

"I can drive if you need me to," Max Evans leaned over the seat and placed his hand on a canned soda sitting in-between the front seats. "Can I have this?"

"Sure," Maria cast a glance over her shoulder at him. "And no, you can't drive."

"I was just offering."

"Is your girlfriend still asleep?"

"She's not my girlfriend, and yes she is. She's exhausted."

"Yeah, I bet, all that running from the law and kidnapping."

"She told me what happened in Las Vegas," Max said quietly. "Were you really going to help her?"

Maria let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "I was going to listen to her and she fucked me."

"She didn't know if she could trust you or not-"

"I took off her handcuffs!" Maria retorted feeling all of the anger she had in Vegas. "God! Why did you ever get mixed up with her again?"

Max shook his head and looked at the sleeping felon next to him. "Have you ever had such a strong feeling to help someone?" He waited for Maria to answer, when she didn't, he continued. "She called me up out of the blue and asked for my help. I was so in love with her in high school and I never told her. We were good friends, but that was all. I couldn't not help her, it didn't matter if it was right or wrong, I had to help her."

"Well, I won't pretend to understand because I don't," Maria tucked her hair behind her ears and rolled her window up halfway.

"You've never had anyone that you cared so much about you would do anything, no matter how stupid or insane, to help them?"

Maria thought his question through before answering. Until she had met Michael Guerin, she never thought she was capable of that feeling. Suddenly everything had changed. "Okay, I can kind of see what you're saying, but I'm an officer of the courts, I can't condone felonious behavior."

Max smiled that brilliant smile. "You're going to be good for him."

Maria opened her mouth to respond with a smart-ass remark, but decided against it. Instead, she glanced over at the sleeping man next to her, still snoring and slightly drooling over parted lips, and smiled.

"Seriously, " Max nodded. "You're going to be really good for him."

"Why? Why would you say that?"

"Because, it's only natural," Max shrugged. "You two met because you were supposed to, fate, if you believe in that kind of thing. And now instead of two lonely souls, you'll have each other. No one wants to be alone," his voice held a deep sadness. "That's human nature, everyone wants somebody to love and to have them love you back."

Maria nodded and hated that she heard the truth in his words. It was all true but she had never realized it before. She'd been living her life alone; unaware that underneath her independence there was that want of companionship. It always boiled down to human nature.

"Where are we?" Liz's whiny voice rang out from the backseat.

"Oh hell," Maria sighed. "Dumb's up."

* * *

Chapter Thirty Four


"You don't have to call her that, Maria." Max stated glancing over his shoulder at the now yawning Liz Parker. "We're in Arizona."

Liz nodded and reached for Max's can of soda. "May I have some?"

"Oh, for crying out loud," Maria sighed heavily. "There's more. You don't have to take his!" She leaned over and rummaged around Michael's outstretched legs until she found another can. She handed it over her shoulder until it was taken.

"Thank you," Liz's voice was weak from the backseat.

Maria turned the radio up and fought the urge to wipe away the drool from Michael's lip. She tuned out Dumb and Max, for some reason she just couldn't call him Dumber anymore. He was dumb in his actions and choices, but he nailed human nature like only Maria thought she could do.

The traffic was light and the sky was vibrant as Maria cruised through Arizona with the radio turned up just loud enough to drown out the mumblings from the backseat, but not loud enough to wake Michael up.

She caught herself glancing at him every few minutes and smiling. Max had been right; she would be good for him as well as he'd be good for her. They complimented each other in so many ways already and they were only at the tip of the iceberg. On a ridiculous trip into one of the circles of hell, she had found reason.

Bursting with excitement, Maria DeLuca could have cared less about the dynamic duo in the backseat. She was getting ready to embark on something new and unknown and she was excited as hell.

She was confident her fish would like Roswell. Okay, she was confident her fish wouldn't bitch too much about it. She'd miss her neighbor Lenora, but the new possibilities were endless. She was packing up and moving all for a man. But he seemed to be the man that she hadn't known existed. Another quick glance at that man and she pressed down harder on the pedal.

* * *

The daylight was fading into dusk and the incessant pleas for a bathroom break from Liz Parker finally grated Maria's nerves enough that she pulled over at a gas station a couple of hours inside the California border. Bakersfield. She had been driving since morning and wasn't tired yet. She was renewed when Michael had finally woken up around noon and promptly kissed her on her cheek.

"Come on," Maria refrained from calling Liz 'Dumb' only because she didn't want the backlash from Max. She stood outside of the back door and waited until Liz emerged before grabbing her forearm in a tight clasp. "Make it fast."

"You're taking me in, you don't have to be such a bitch about it. You won, okay?" Liz pulled at the hem of her shirt with her free hand until she was flung towards the gas station wall and forced to face Maria.

"Do you think me driving you across the freaking country is bitch-like? How about the fact that I bought you something to drink, bitchy?" Maria seethed, her face inches away from Liz's. "I could be a mega-bitch and drop you off for the nearest bad guy to find and butcher. I could let you run, track you down and keep doing the same thing over and over until I get tired of it. I could do a number of things that would undoubtedly be very bitch like, but I'm not. I'm being very humane, even though you freaking kidnapped me and made me sit on that awful plaid couch in my pretty new dress. So no Liz, I'm not being a bitch."

Liz nodded slowly while edging her face away from Maria.

"We should be in San Francisco in about six hours, then I'll dump you off to the authorities, you'll be safe with them, I promise." Maria wanted to stick something sharp in her eye for the last comment. She didn't like Liz Parker, but something about her made her kind of sad. No, she realized that was inaccurate. It was what Max said in the car.

That's human nature, everyone wants somebody to love and to have them love you back.

That's where the shred of compassion for Liz's plight came from. It wasn't about her at all, it was about Max Evans and the loneliness he exuded. He had held on to something he never really had. Maria understood the loneliness that Max lived with, and until very recently, she had shared it.

"Just get in there," Maria pulled her roughly by the arm and pushed open the bathroom door. She held a metal stall door open and turned her head.

"You don't have to stand there," Liz whined.

Maria didn't answer her; she only sighed.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Max Evans leaned forward and rested his arms on the back of the passenger seat.

"You should be," Michael turned around and faced his life long friend. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Max shook his head, "I don't know. I just wanted to help her. I felt like I had to help her."

"You broke laws for her!" Michael retorted.

"I know," Max bowed his head momentarily before facing the accusation. "I was stupid, but I would do it again."

"For Liz?"

"For Liz," Max confirmed with a nod. "I felt useful."

"Do you mean used?" Michael couldn't resist a smirk.

"She needed me. I know you and Maria think I'm crazy, and maybe in some ways I am, but I couldn't not help her. Have you ever been so drawn to someone that you'd do anything for them?"

Michael weighed his words before he answered. After a quick glance at the gas station he realized that since he'd known he was falling for Maria DeLuca, he could understand. "I can understand Max, but you broke laws for her. I can't condone that no matter what."

Max smiled at the nearly identical words that Maria had said to him that morning. "You're going to be good for her."

"I know," Michael turned back around and folded his arms over his chest. He was smiling.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Five

Maria let Michael drive again right before they reached Fresno. They switched drivers in the drive-thru lane of a fast food restaurant not too long before the dinner rush was ready to begin. Michael bought dinner for everyone and they stayed in the car to eat.

"What's going to happen to me?" Liz asked interrupting a comfortable silence.

Michael and Maria looked at each other, then Maria answered. "You're going to go to jail."

"That's it?" Liz's eyes were wide.

"Isn't that enough?" Michael looked over his shoulder at her with raised eyebrows.

"Do you think they would consider the Witness Protection Program? I mean, if I have the evidence to put away my old bosses?"

Michael looked at Maria and gave her the go-ahead to answer that one. It was out of his league. He regretted that he didn't have the answers, but he was just a small time bounty hunter from a small town. The only thing he knew about the Witness Protection Program, he had learned from movies.

Maria sighed before answering. "Maybe, I don't know. Since apparently they are indeed out to get you, then it might be a good idea. At least until this blows over and they go to jail. I'm sure the Marshal's will consider it if you ask."

"So I have a chance for a new life?" Liz's voice held hope. A quick glance at Max and the hope turned to sympathy. "Max, I don't know what else to do."

Max took her hand in his. "It'd be the best for you Liz," he smiled. "Talk to the Marshal's and see if you can't make a deal."

"Which she should have done before she bolted out of custody," Maria snipped. "God, didn't you think anything through all the way?"

"I'm not an experienced criminal," Liz said. "I didn't know what to do. I was put into a situation that I didn't know how to get out of. So I did what I thought was best at the time. I can see now that it wasn't the best idea."

"No shit," Michael murmured earning him a smile from Maria.

"I didn't mean to drag Max into anything, I just didn't know who else to call."

"Don't you have any friends?" Maria cursed herself for asking. She didn't really care if Liz Parker had friends or not.

Liz shook her head slowly. "No, not really. No one that I trust implicitly. That's why I went home, to Roswell, it's the last place that I had friends," she looked at Max and smiled as she squeezed his hand. "I knew my mom would help and Max… Well, I hoped Max would still be the same sweet guy that he was when I knew him in high school."

Michael opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head as he changed his mind.

"I still can't believe how stupid you two were," Maria shook her head slightly feeling more at ease than she expected. "You kidnapped me! You actually kidnapped me!"

"I'm really sorry about that," Liz said.

"Me too," Max chimed in. "It was a stupid mistake and I hope none of that will be a hindrance between us when you move to Roswell."

"You're moving to Roswell?" Liz asked with something that sounded like excitement in her voice. "Really?"

Maria nodded and caught the smirk on Michael's lips. "Yeah, I'm moving to one of the circles of hell."

"That's great," Liz sighed. "You'll really like living in Roswell, I did."

Maria looked out the passenger window and grinned. She was seriously moving to Roswell to be with a man that she barely knew. Although she felt like he was the missing half of her, she had known him only a few short days and she was giving up everything for him. No, she corrected herself; she was giving up her life in San Francisco for herself, not for Michael. This was for her. Period. Michael Guerin was just an extreme bonus.

Michael called Isabel and kept her posted on their progress and asked if the mysterious men from the woods had appeared again. After she promised they hadn't and assured Michael she was perfectly safe he hung up and turned up the radio to drown out the chitchat from the back seat. He looked to Maria and then reached for her hand.

"You're going to love living in Roswell," he confirmed what Liz had said.

"Really?" She asked as the first inkling of doubt crept into her mind.

"Yeah," he nodded. "You're going to love it."

Maria smiled as the doubt sifted away and knew he was right. She was going to love it.

* * *

Maria called Marco, the man she worked for, when they were about a hundred miles outside of San Francisco. After a few minutes of heated swearing followed by laughter, Maria told Marco where they were and exactly what she wanted. She didn't bother to look in the backseat at Liz, she knew she'd be staring at her with those almond shaped brown eyes full of wonder and Maria thought she might gag if she looked back at her.

She hung up with Marco and stretched out her legs in front of her. "You know, I do want to go to my apartment when we get there, right?"

"To see your fish?" Max asked from the backseat.

"Yeah, to see my fish," she smiled and then added to herself, so I can tell them we're relocating.

Michael shook his head and smiled to himself. He had laughed at Isabel a few days earlier when she told him they were after Liz Parker. Scrawny Liz from high school. He laughed even harder when she told him a chick bounty hunter was already on her tail. Now Liz Parker was in the backseat being hand delivered and then Maria was going to return to Roswell with him. He just smiled thinking about how fast and hard he had fallen for that chick bounty hunter. No doubt. No fear.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Maria said and then shifted her eyes away wondering when in the hell she had ever talked like that.

"A penny?" Michael snorted. "Hell, after we get the bounty for her," he pointed his thumb into the backseat, "it'll cost you more than a penny!"

"You're an ass," she grinned and flung a shiny penny at him that she had found on the floorboard.

"No, "Michael corrected her. "According to Isabel I am King of the Jackasses."

"I always knew my sister was a pretty sharp woman," Max leaned forward and placed his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Hey, are we cool?"

Michael seemed to think about it for a few seconds before nodding slowly. "Yeah Max, I think we're cool. But could you do me a favor?" He waited until he saw Max nod in the rearview mirror. "Quit fucking analyzing me and your sister."

Max laughed and eventually the rest of the car joined in.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Six

Maria couldn't believe she was laughing with Liz Parker. She stopped abruptly and turned her head to the window. She wasn't supposed to be laughing with the felons. She didn't like Liz Parker or what she had done and to now be sitting there in the car laughing with her was too much for Maria.

"You okay?" Michael asked and touched her bare thigh.

"I'm good," she nodded.

"Nervous?"

"About dropping off Dumb?" She turned back to him with raised eyebrows. "Hardly."

"No, about the other stuff. About the 'later'?" Michael rolled his eyes.

"I'm not really nervous," she glanced in the backseat relieved that Max and Liz were having their own hushed conversation and wouldn't intrude on theirs, again. "I guess I'm just a little shocked that I'm doing something so compulsively, I mean, shit, I've lived in San Francisco since I was little. And now, on the drop of a dime I'm moving to Roswell New Mexico, the home of the little green men. I have no idea what I'm thinking!"

"You're thinking that you finally found someone that you couldn't bear not to be with."

"Well," Maria's eyes twinkled. "I really like Isabel, but I'm sure I could bear not to be with her."

"Smartass," Michael grumbled while shaking his head.

"Better than being a dumbass."

"Or a jackass, right?"

"Yeah Guerin," she laughed and realized why it was so easy to make the decision to move. "Better than being a jackass."

* * *
Dusk turned to dark and Michael wondered if he was ever going to get out of the car again. Although the ride had been relatively smooth, he was anxious now. He was getting ready to start something new and he was excited, something he wasn't used to being. Not over a woman. But Maria DeLuca wasn't just any woman.

He stole a glance at her; her eyes wide with excitement as the miles closed between them and San Francisco. Her home. A sudden bolt of realization hit him, she was giving up her life to move to Roswell. A place she swore she hated, just to be with him. Michael Guerin was humbled.

He noticed the swell of her breasts underneath her shirt, the way her shorts seemed almost glued to her long, slim legs. He wanted to feel those legs wrapped around his waist.

Maria knew Michael was looking at her she could almost feel the heat from him. Or maybe it was her own heat, she wasn't sure. As they passed a mile marker telling her it was only thirty-one more miles to San Francisco, she used Michael's phone to call Marco again.

As the lights and sounds of San Francisco welcomed Maria DeLuca home, the others in the car were a little bit more apprehensive. Liz Parker for obvious reasons, her reign of freedom was almost over. Max Evans was sure he was going to go back to the lonely life he had before Liz called. Michael Guerin was nervous that once Maria got home that she wouldn't want to leave with him again.

Maria rattled off directions to Michael and then called Marco again with a change in plans.

"Where are we going?" Liz asked. "It looks like we're headed towards the water."

"You're not going to drown her are you?" Michael asked looking over at Maria.

She rolled her eyes before answering. "No, we're going to my apartment. Marco and two Marshal's will be there soon to meet us."

"Your apartment?" Michael heard his voice catch and it pissed him off. "Why there?"

"Safer for her," Maria motioned with her thumb to the back seat. "Since she's wanted dead, and we don't work on the dead or alive factor, I thought we should get her there in one piece."

"Your concern for me is overwhelming," Liz muttered form the backseat.

"That's it!" Maria unlatched her seatbelt and knelt on her seat facing the back of the car. "I'm doing everything I can for you Dumb! I don't feel the need to listen to your condescending remarks! I'm taking you to my apartment, my home, so the big bad guys won't get you, so either be grateful or shut the fuck up!"

Liz looked at the blond with narrowed eyes. "Thank you."

Maria nodded once and turned back around. Her chest flush with anger that was quickly subsiding into pity. She was getting ready to embark on a new journey with the man seated beside her while Liz Parker was looking at either hard time or dropping off the face of the planet. She cursed human nature.

"Turn left at the light and go straight until it looks like you're going to hit the water. There's a parking lot before the footpath." Maria pointed, her stomach nervous being so close to home. Her loins ached being so close to a parking lot.

Michael drove slowly and rolled down his window completely. The salt air hit his nose and the sounds of the ocean hit his ears. "You can really leave here? For the desert?"

Maria didn't answer him right away. She could leave the ocean, but it wasn't for the desert, it was for bigger and better things. "Yeah Guerin, I can leave here."

"Well," he whistled as he pulled into the parking lot, "I've only been here for a few minutes in the dark and I'm not sure if I can leave here or not!"

Maria directed him to her empty parking spot outside of a modest two story stone building. "I'm on the second floor," she pointed up to a dark balcony overlooking the beach before she turned around to face Liz. "If you try to run I'll catch you and beat the crap out of you, got it?"

"I won't run," Liz shook her head. "If nothing else comes of this, I'm happy some sea turtles will be taken care of."

Maria couldn't respond civilly. She got out of the car and inhaled the smells of home. She waited until the others were out of the car before she started walking towards the building. She knew her neighbor would still be up watching late night talk shows and could use her key to get in. She couldn't wait to see her fish again.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Seven


After a brief rundown of events to her neighbor Lenora, Maria opened the door to her apartment, turned on the living room light and let the rest of her entourage in. Michael looked around the sparsely furnished spacious living room and then followed Maria with his eyes.

Maria walked directly to the thirty-gallon aquarium and turned the light in the hood on. Five Angelfish swam to the front of the tank and stared out.

"Hi guys," Maria smiled at her family. "You been taking care of everyone Chuck?"

"They're beautiful fish," Max stood next to her.

Maria nodded and looked over her shoulder. Michael was watching her and Liz was standing in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around herself. The small group settled into an uncomfortable silence as the knowledge set in this was where everything changed.

Liz Parker was going away, somewhere, maybe to never be heard from again. Max Evans was going to go back to his lonely existence of analyzing his friends and family, but now he'd carry with him some renewed dreams of life. Michael Guerin was about to change everything he believed in. He had fallen for a woman so much like himself it was scary and he was loving every single second of it. Maria DeLuca was changing residences and her mind about her life. She hated to admit it to herself, but she was lonely, no, she had been lonely. Now she was about to start over in Roswell with Michael and she couldn't wait.

Maria shook herself back to the current situation. She was leaving her apartment and moving to Roswell. This may be the last time she's ever here. She thought she'd be struck with more nostalgia than she was. But San Francisco had only been home to her because her Uncle Chuck had made it that. Now Chuck was gone and it was time for Maria to leave too. She glanced out the sliding glass door leading to the balcony and thought about all the lonely nights she had spent sitting outside listening to the waves crash. A quick look at Michael reassured her the lonely nights were over.

"Where are the Marshal's?" Liz asked and sat down in the center of the couch. She jumped up quickly. "I'm sorry, may I sit down?"

Maria fought for control of her eyes to keep them rolling and nodded. "They should be here soon." A knock at the door caused her to reach for the stun gun she didn't have. "Like now."

She walked across the apartment to the front door and looked out the peephole before a smile crossed her face. She opened the door and a man about her height greeted with open arms.

Michael watched with immature jealousy as a man with jet-black hair pulled back into a pony tail and black leather pants hugged Maria. Hugged his Maria. He watched this pseudo-Italian Mafioso wannabe kiss Maria on the lips and it took everything he had in him not to charge across the room and beat the crap out of him.

"Marco," she smiled and looked over his shoulder at the man and woman in back of him. "Thanks for backing me on this."

"Anything for you DeLuca," Marco lost all credibility as an Italian mobster when his dialect was nothing but California Valley. "Come on in," Marco stepped aside and let the two presumed Marshals in. "This is US Marshal Kit Sherman and Deputy Marshal Brian Krinkle." Marco extended his arm towards Maria and grinned. "And this is my star, Maria DeLuca."

Maria blushed and shook both Marshal's hands. She motioned towards Michael for him to join her. When he had taken his place next to her she grinned. "And let me introduce Michael Guerin, Fugitive Apprehension Agent extraordinaire."

Michael nodded politely and then followed Maria and shook their hands. He nodded at Marco. "Nice to meet you."

"And that is…" Marshal Kit Sherman nodded at Max who was in her line of vision.

Maria saw the worry in Max's eyes. "He's just a friend who got taken along for the ride." And then she saw the gratitude. "And over on the couch is who you're looking for, Ms. Elizabeth Parker."

The Marshal's stepped further into the apartment and faced the now cowering Liz on the couch. Kit Sherman turned back to face Marco and nodded. "We can take it from here."

"No," Maria let out a deep breath and shook her head. Seeing the fear in Liz Parker's face peaked something humane in her. "We have a few conditions."

"Maria-" Marco said her name slowly. "What are you doing?"

"I told you on the phone," Maria spoke through clenched teeth. "I guaranteed her protection and I need to make damn sure that she gets it!" She turned to the Marshal's. "I need to see your identification." She grabbed a pad of paper and pen while they got out their credentials and handed them to her. Maria wrote down all the pertinent information and then handed them back. "I'm trusting you two not to get her killed. If you do, you'll have to deal with me and I can be a real bitch."

Maria glanced at each person in the room daring each one of them to agree with her.

"Ms. DeLuca," Kit Sherman stepped towards her. "I've been a Marshal for over ten years and I can assure you that nothing will happen to Ms. Parker while she is in our custody."

"Not good enough," Maria sighed. "When she turns the evidence over, what are her chances of being placed in the Program?"

"The Witness Protection Program was not designed for white-collar criminals," Kit Sherman bat her eyelashes.

"Oh," Maria raised her eyebrows before the innocuous eye rolling. "I want her in it. Can you make that deal? Right here? If not, then get me someone who can. She has people who want her dead, you need her alive. If you can't secure her safety then I will and you'll never get her bosses."

Kit Sherman glanced at the small, frail looking woman on the couch and nodded slowly. "Imminent danger?"

"So imminent, it's why we drove here in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on our backs. They found her in Roswell and they'll find her again. Can you make the deal Marshal Sherman?" Maria placed her hands on her hips and avoided looking over her shoulder at Liz.

Marshal Sherman nodded. "Yes Ms. DeLuca, I can make the deal." She looked over her shoulder at Marco. "You failed to mention how demanding she was Mr. Gitto." She pointed to the other Marshall. "Deputy, please go out to the car and bring in my briefcase, I'm betting that Ms. DeLuca will want all of this in writing."

Maria nodded and felt the weight of protection being lifted off of her. "Thank you."

Michael watched Maria DeLuca in amazement. He was nervous as hell just being in the same room with US Marshals, but Maria was standing up to them and making demands. Not only did he love her, he respected her.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Maria nodded at Marco. "In the other room?"

Marco followed Maria obediently down the hallway and into her bedroom. She turned on the light and closed the door.

"What?"

"I quit." Maria couldn't believe she was saying it.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I quit. I'm not working for you anymore," she sighed. "I'm moving away from San Francisco."

"You can't. You're my best Agent!" Marco shook his head. "You can't do this to me, DeLuca."

"I have to," she stepped forward and hugged him. "I'm sorry, but if you ever have another one skip down to New Mexico, give me a call?"

"Oh man," he kissed her cheek. "What would your Uncle say? What would Chuck say about you giving up San Francisco and your job?"

Maria mulled the question over and thought about the man waiting for her in the other room. "He'd be damn proud of me Marco, damn proud. Besides, who said I was giving up my job? I just won't be working for you anymore."

"Well, whoever you're going to work for is damn lucky to have you, I hope they realize that."

"Yeah," she smiled. "I'm pretty sure he does."

* * *

Chapter Thirty Eight

Maria DeLuca and Marshal Kit Sherman stayed huddled over a laptop computer and several stacks of paper at the kitchen table for over an hour. Deputy Marshal Brian Krinkle stood in back of the female Marshal with a stone face and statue demeanor.

Michael Guerin occasionally paced the room, his eyes usually falling on Maria. Sometimes they fell on Marco, who was usually on his cell phone, sometimes it was Max, and sometimes it was even Liz. He caught himself looking more and more at the Angelfish and tried to imagine how they were going to transport them in the car back to Roswell.

He glanced back at Max and felt sorry for him. Max was holding Liz's hands in his and she looked terrified. Michael did feel sorry for her as well to a certain extent. She wasn't exactly the hardened criminal he had hoped for; she was just a stupid, small woman who made bad choices.

"Alright," Maria said loudly and shook the Marshal's hand across the table. "Marshal Sherman, you have yourself a deal." She looked over at Liz and nodded for her to join them at the table.

Liz looked at Max and after a reassuring smile and nod she rose and led Max by the hand to the small kitchen.

"Sit," Maria ordered and Liz sat immediately. She felt Michael who had moved in to stand behind her and smiled. "Okay Parker, this is the story…"

Liz listened intently with her eyes wide and her mouth shut as she learned her fate. She was going to be taken into custody by Marshall Sherman where she would stay until it was time to testify. She would be placed in the Witness Protection Program until the trial was over and the sentencing had begun. In the event of an innocent verdict or a mistrial, Liz would stay in the WPP indefinitely. Otherwise, she would receive a commuted sentence.

"So, if they go to jail, I'm free?"

"Yes," Marshal Sherman answered. "If they are convicted by your testimony and evidence, you're a free woman."

"I can move anywhere then? When this is all over? I could move back to Roswell?"

Maria felt Michael's hands on her shoulders. "Sure you don't want to stay here?" He whispered in her ear.

"Yes Ms. Parker, you'll be able to move anywhere that you want. But nothing can happen until you turn states evidence and it results in a conviction."

"When can I start?" Liz smiled wildly and looked at Max.

"They trial probably won't come for about a year, after the delay you caused…" Marshal Sherman smiled bitterly. "You're just going to have to take it one day at a time. Are you ready to go?"

"Will I really be safe?" Liz didn't ask the Marshal's; she directed her question at Maria.

"Yeah, you can bet on it," Maria nodded. "I told you I'd take care of it. Now get the hell out of here."

Liz stood and wrapped her arms around Maria, who stood frozen, an annoyed expression on her face. "I'm sorry Maria, I should have trusted you back in Vegas." Maria nodded. "But I do trust you now and thank you."

Maria nodded and shrugged out of the other woman's clasp. "Just try not to live up to your name anymore, okay?"

Liz nodded and stepped away; she turned back to Max. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Max nodded and followed her back into the living room out of earshot from the others.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," Liz shook her head. "I just hoped you'd be the same person I knew in high school and you were."


"Don't apologize," Max smiled.

"I always wanted you to ask me out back then…"

"I always wanted to," he confessed. "Maybe when this is all over…?"

"Yeah Max, when it's all over." Liz stepped into him and embraced him.

Maria and Michael watched standing arm to arm.

"You're one helluva woman DeLuca," Michael draped his arm over her shoulders.

"Don't you ever forget it," she looked up at him and smiled and knew that was something he would never forget. "I need to talk to Marco for a minute while Max and Dumb are saying their good-byes." She motioned for the dark-haired man to follow her out of the room. They were only gone a few minutes before Maria returned to Michael's side. "Just had to turn in a few markers."

Michael nodded. "Well, what now?"

What now? Maria felt the nervousness rise up in her. Now was the time to start something new.

* * *

The good-byes were short. Liz Parker was led away by the US Marshals with renewed hope in her eyes. She saw the same hope in Max's.

"Well, I'm outta here DeLuca," Marco swooped her up into a hug and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I'm going to miss the hell out of you." He set her down and turned to Michael and outstretched his hand. "Take care of this Wildcat, okay?"

Michael nodded. "You can bet your life on it."

"DeLuca, don't worry about a thing," Marco said as he walked to the front door. "I'll personally oversee everything myself. Do you have an address to ship to yet?"

Maria smirked and nudged Michael in the ribs with her elbow. "Would you write down our address for him please? Marco's going to pack my place up."

Michael raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. "So, we're not staying here too long are we?"

Maria shook her head. "Nope, I think just long enough to pack up some clothes, figure out what to do with my fish and give you a tour of the parking lot."

* * *

Chapter Thirty Nine

"Max," Maria walked over to the man who looked like he had just lost his best friend. She looped her arm through his. "I'm sorry that you got pinched in the middle of this whole thing."

Max shrugged and laid on that great smile. "It's okay, at least I have something to look forward to now."

Maria thought about debating him on that but decided against it. Max had been right; everyone wants someone to love and to have that someone love them back. Human nature controls everyone's life whether they choose to accept it or not. Maria accepted it. She bathed in it. "Do me a favor?"

Max nodded and sighed. "A favor? It's the least I can do for you."

"We're headed back to Roswell in a little while, I don't want to stay here too long."

"Ready to start a new life?" Max smiled knowingly.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I am." Maria felt herself blush and damned herself. "Anyway, the fish," she pointed to the tank, "Yeah, they're coming with us. I need you to think of a way to transport them safely."

Max stared blankly at her. "Serious?"

She nodded. "As a heart attack."

He looked to the tank and his eyes lit up. He questioned her on the whereabouts of an all night department store. Without missing a beat, she gave him directions then asked Michael to relinquish the keys to Isabel's car.

"You're coming back, right?" Michael asked before dropping the keys into Max's open palm.

"No Michael," Max snorted. "I thought I'd just drive off into the night so my sister would report her car stolen and send me to jail." He rolled his eyes. "I've been almost arrested too many times already. I should be back in about an hour."

"Perfect," Maria smiled and tucked her hand into Michael's.

* * *

After watching Max pull out of the parking lot, Maria inhaled the ocean air and smiled. "I don't think I'll miss the ocean to much."

"No?" Michael sidled up next to her and inhaled deeply. "I think I might."

Maria smiled and led him by the hand a short distance to where the parking lot gave way to sand. She smiled and nodded towards a picnic table almost engulfed by a flowering bush.

Michael gazed down at her, the woman he had fallen for, and knew he'd be with her always.

"You were a real pain in the ass when I first met you," Michael shook his head and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Yeah?" She smiled. "You were an just an ass."

"Funny how things change, isn't it?"

"Yeah," the word was whispered as Michael pressed his lips against hers.

Maria reached down and raised her shirt above her breasts. Michael went instantly to them and clamped his mouth around one rosy pert nipple. A moan escaped her lips as she felt his hands on the waistband of her shorts. With lithe fingers, he unbuttoned her shorts and let them fall to the ground. Maria stepped out of them as she reached for his jeans. Within minutes they were unclothed underneath the moon with the night waves crashing behind them.

He cupped her face in his hands and stared into her eyes as he pressed his hardness against her pelvis. "Will I ever know how you got to me so fast?"

She shrugged and parted her legs. "If you do, let me know. That might explain how you got to me. Period."

He laughed but the sound was washed out by the ocean blare. Slipping his hands underneath her ass, he lifted her on to him as he slid inside of her. He felt her clamp around him and her nipples press into his chest. He rocked her as she secured her legs around his thighs.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to do this inside?" He whispered wetly in her ear.

"Do you really want to be like everyone else?" She leaned back and braced herself up by splaying her hands flat on the table in back of her.

He lowered her onto the table until her ass was on the edge and her legs hung down. He thrust into her as far as he could and wanted to explode. Lying down on top of her, his head resting in the valley between her breasts, Michael Guerin fought to regain control of his body.

"What's the matter Guerin?" Maria asked coyly as she slid her hands through his hair. "Can't you handle it?"

He looked up at her and took a nipple in his mouth, running his teeth over the ridges, his tongue swirling around the bumps. He felt her pelvis buck into him, her walls tighten around him, and grinned. He let go of her nipple and said, "What's the matter DeLuca? Can't you handle it?"

He stood back up and looked down at her while he thrust inside of her again and again, each time trying to go further than the last. Each thrust gaining speed. He stared at her face, almost translucent in the pale moonlight, as wind suddenly kicked up covering them in a salty mist. "You're beautiful."

Maria bit her bottom lip so hard she thought she might draw blood. The cavity of loneliness was filled, as she was physically when she felt the warmth from Michael spread through her insides. She watched as he reached down in-between her legs and concentrated his thumb on her swollen clit until she felt the rapture spread through her.

"I'm never letting you go," he murmured before his mouth closed over hers, his chest against hers.

"You better not," she smiled when she felt his lips move away from hers.

"I guess we should get back inside and get you packed, huh?" He asked while making no attempt to move from her.

"I guess so," she sighed and placed her hand on the back of his neck pulling him down to her for one more kiss. She rolled her head to the side and looked at the ocean, only the whitecaps were visible. "Maybe I'll miss the ocean a little bit." She looked back at him. "But probably not as much as I'd miss you."

He smirked knowing he wasn't alone; with extended hands, he pulled her up into a sitting position and handed her clothes. They dressed in a comfortable silence, a new beginning on the horizon. Something new for them to capture and bring in.

They walked hand in hand back to the apartment that Maria DeLuca would never live in again. Without any nostalgia, she began pulling clothes out of the closet and ordered Michael to empty dresser drawers. He earned an evil glare when he paraded around the bedroom holding various pairs of panties up to himself and reciting his montage in an overtly high pitched voice. "I'm Maria DeLuca, the baddest bounty hunter in the world, but I don't I look pretty in these?"

"A I interrupting?" Max stood in the open door of the bedroom and smiled. "Nice color Michael," he pointed to the pink panties Michael had against his groin. "Anyway, I solved the fish transportation problem."

Maria followed him into the living room and Max explained how they would safely transport five Angelfish to Roswell in the backseat of the car. He showed her everything he had bought and explained in detail how it would be used. A medium sized cooler would be filled with de-chlorinated water, a battery run air filter would sit outside of the cooler with the tube running into it. Max produced a box big enough to hold the cooler that was filled with packing peanuts. He explained the cooler should be stable enough with the packing peanuts so the fish shouldn't get too jostled. He also produced several freezepacks to line the outside of the cooler with if the temperature got too hot in the car.

"Well?" He stepped back and glanced proudly at his creativeness.

"I think it's an excellent idea," Maria beamed. "Thanks for thinking up a brilliant way to get my fish to Roswell, Max. Seriously."

He shrugged as a light blush crept across his cheeks. "I may be a student of human nature, but I know these fish are family to you."

Maria nodded and felt Michael's presence beside her. She reached for his hand and smiled at him. "Well Guerin, you ready to head back to Roswell?"

* * *

Chapter Forty


Epilogue

"Are you sure you want to come with me? You've been out in the field almost everyday for the last two weeks!" Michael exclaimed.

Isabel Evans turned around slowly and then smiled brilliantly. She tucked her hair behind her ears and then touched the butt of the stun gun inserted snugly in the waistband of her designer jeans. "Yeah Michael, I want to come. You have a problem with that?"

Since Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca had returned to Roswell, business did indeed pick up. It was more than just them being the only bail bonding agents in town, although that did give them an edge. Having Maria DeLuca on board gave them a familiar name. A respected name.

Isabel shook her head and thought briefly about her brother. In the months that Liz had been gone, Max continued his education and she knew he was waiting for the day that Liz Parker came back to Roswell.

"No I don't have a problem with that," Michael rolled his eyes. "But if you think you're driving-"

"Oh my God!" Maria DeLuca exclaimed and placed her hands on the teakwood desk she was sitting at. "Would you two just get the hell out of here? I have a ton of filing to do and you guys are making me freakin' crazy with all that bickering!"

"Sorry babe," Michael winked at her. With long strides he closed the distance between them and kissed the top of her head. "I wish you were going too."

"You and me both," she sighed and pushed herself up using her hands on the desk for leverage exposing her swollen stomach. A T-shirt stretched tight over her belly had the words 'Future Bounty Hunter On Board' emblazoned on it. "Soon Guerin, very soon." She rubbed her belly as Michael leaned over and kissed it. "Now go!"

Michael smiled and walked to the door where Isabel was waiting. He looked once more over his shoulder and admired the mother of his child. His partner. A real life bad ass bounty hunter.


the end


becky

Distaster episode? We don't get it here until Sunday 4 AM and since I'm spoiler free girl, I can't comment yet.

Anyway, thanks for reading & hope you enjoyed YAY!!!!