Partners
By DocPaul

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Set after Wipeout Season 2.
Summary: It is an aftermath of Courtney’s death, and Maria can’t stop seeing herself as unimportant to Michael after seeing him with Courtney, the kiss, and finally Michael saving Courtney’s husk. So Maria gives up, but she didn’t count of Michael.
Disclaimer: They don’t belong to me, but they wished they did.
Warning: This story was written long ago and never beta’d, so beware my early writing style and mistake abound. If you are a grammar nazi and grammatical errors make your little head explode, for your health do not venture forth.
Author’s note: This story was written as a request from a Candy girl. She wanted a story where Maria didn’t say Michael’s name for a year and the boy was working hard. This story has a sort of off-beat psychotic Michael with some real uncharacteristic Michael truths and speeches. But in Roswell we’ve seen Michael actually talk when the situation was grim enough or meant enough to him.

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Michael looked up at the ceiling watching the shadows of the night chase across his walls. The streetlight at night lit his room and on occasions he would blow out the light just to get rid of the shadows, but somehow a few nights later the City of Roswell maintenance crew would have replaced the blown bulb and he was once again sleeping in the light. Blaming the light in his room actually wasn’t really fair. He literally hadn’t slept for 36 days, 17 hours, and 37, 38, 39, 40... minutes. That was how long ago it was since Maria found him in Courtney room, with one skin-peeling alien in a towel exclaiming over his kissing prowess. It’s over.

He sought her out the next day, apologized, explained, and Maria sort of forgave him, she understood. But, they were still over, or teetering on the edge. The thing about Maria is she has a heart more open and abundant than the sea. She can’t ignore a friend in need. So when they went to search for Courtney there was hope that things could be mended. Sure she was still pissed, and maybe deserved to be, but there was never a doubt that sooner or later she would come to reason. Then after saving Courtney’s husk in Arizona everything took a nosedive again.

Part of her understood that Courtney means something to the larger quest, the lifetime search to understand what happened in the last life, and what happen on another planet. Courtney was an alien that had lived a long time with that knowledge, fifty years. Letting her die before all that could be known, that should be known was actually discovered would have been too much. Then she died by her own hands. It was over. All the work, all the searching, and a lifetime of questions on the verge of being answered and they dried up on the CrashDown floor. The depression and futility of going on after this was too much for Maria to deal with. How was she to understand that the depression and mood swings weren’t from losing a lover? It wasn’t losing Courtney, because the choice was hers to make, but it was losing the opportunity. Once again, in his silence and depression, he took her for granted and this time she would not mend. So now, it was really over.

Michael could live with the loss of information, even after being so close, so very close. But it was becoming apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to survive without one Maria DeLuca. Even when he was pushing her away, she was never farther than a hand length away, a call, a look, or even a sound. Now she was completely gone, done with him, finished, over, no more. Sure she still talked to him, still participated with the others in the great adventure, but she didn’t actively look for him, search him out. It has been 33 days, 18 hours, and 11, 12, 13… minutes since Courtney died and the last time Maria said his name.

~~~

“Hey.” Maria snorted and kept on walking past him. Michael sucked back his angry resort and rushed after her.

“Maria, I need your help.” Maria kept on walking towards her locker. “Please?”

He could see her pause and take a deep breath. It was unfair to use her basic helpful nature against her, but after 38 days of silence and no Maria, he was desperate. She turned to look at him with her head ticked to one side and her hands on her hips. Maria gave him a gesture to tell her what it was.

“I need you to go with me out to the reservation.” Maria opened her mouth to protest. “Before you say anything, I need something from a female medicine woman, an herbalist.”

“Okay, I give. Why me?”

“She only medicates women. She’s a tribal midwife or something. Eddie told me that she would recognize the plant if it grew in the area, or at least enough to tell me how to find some.”

“This plant? What’s so special about it?”

“I don’t know. I just keep getting visions, so finally I drew a picture and showed Eddie. Maria, I need a female to go with me.”

“It seems that you have a choice of females. Why not ask Isabel or Tess?”

“I also need your car.” He watched signs of exasperation move over her face.

“You have wheels now, why not use them.”

“Look, I know you aren’t pleased with me right now. I know that you say we are over. So I’m accepting that. But, I thought that we were more than that, more than just girlfriend and boyfriend.” Michael used everything in his arsenal keeping a deep eye contact with her unblinking. “I thought we were friends, sort of partners in sleuthing. You know, Mulder and Scully, Tommy and Tuppence, Nick and Nora…”

“Bonnie and Clyde?”

“Yeah. I need your help. I work best with you.” He saw her resigned shrug and knew he won. It was a small victory compared to all the losses of late, but he would take what he could get.

“Okay, but you do realize that Bonnie and Clyde were shot to death by the FBI. Right?” Maria and Michael headed out the back door of the CrashDown. Maria handed Michael the keys since he more than likely knew where he was going. Maria wondered if Mr. Rock for Brains even realized how much it hurt that he was able to accept that they were over?

“You know that all those great sleuthing pairs were married or lovers.”

“Holmes and Watson, your point? Drive. I’ve a date tonight.” Michael clenched his hands on the steering wheel as he steered the car out of Roswell. It has been 12 days, 12 hours, and 36, 37, 38… minutes since Maria started dating other people.

~~~

Max came into the CrashDown see Michael in a booth eating and writing in his little notebook that he carried everywhere. This little black notebook showed up a few weeks back and now it seemed that Michael and the book were inseparable, as were Michael and Maria. They spent a lot of time recently hunting down clues, checking out leads. At first Maria was reluctant, almost pissed at having to go with Michael, but over the last few weeks or so, the two always checked things out together. Among the “I Know An Alien Club” they were becoming notorious. Almost as often as they went out, was as often as they found trouble. The two were like magnets for disaster, and yet they were producing more information than all the others combined.

It wasn’t unusual to watch them return home with Maria limping, or both of them wet and disheveled from whatever they were doing. Usually their sorry state was accompanied by loud arguing. It has been over four months since Maria closed her borders and declared Michael Guerin an illegal alien. Since then they spent more time together, arguing, eating, and even sleeping together. Well, not together with the sleeping. But it wasn’t unusual to go over to Michael’s to find Maria fast asleep on his sofa and occasionally in his bed, alone. It was as if he was pushing her to the point of exhaustion to keep her near him, and not dating. It worked sometimes, but not all the time.

They were all watching the courtship of Maria DeLuca by one Michael Guerin done in Guerin style. He left her a flower in her locker, bought her food when they stopped for gas, helped her with her coat, and walked her to her car at night. So far Maria ignored all signs that Michael was trying to make amends. The answer was no. So between Michael’s courting, their sleuthing, and the precarious accident state that they seemed to manage every time they were together, it was nothing more than intense foreplay. And Maria kept on dating.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, Maxwell. Just checking out the latest star maps. I think I identified another symbol’s location. I’m not sure yet so I will probably have to check it out. But if I calculated it correctly that won’t be for another 16 days.”

“I did want to tell you that there is a new lawyer in town. Valenti’s checking him out as we speak.”

“Does he warrant a closer look you think?”

“I don’t know. But this guy is looking pretty chummy with my parents all the sudden. Chummy enough to invite my family with his family to their weekend cabin, this weekend.”

“Interesting. So the family home will be just hanging out all alone. Maybe we should look into it. I think Saturday would be the best. Let me check with Maria.”

“Look, Michael, maybe you should leave Maria out of this piece of breaking and entering. She fell out of a second story window last time and sprung her ankle.”

“Actually, I was pushed out of a second story window.” Max looked up to see Maria looking very sexy in her CrashDown uniform.

“Hey, gorgeous. How about my usual.”

“This is getting sick, buddy-o-mine. You know you eat too much in a greasy spoon when the underpaid, overworked waitresses know what you want.” Max just smirked as Maria took off to put in his order.

“You pushed her out of a window? Michael, that’s not the story you told me.”

“Technically, I tripped, she was balanced precariously on the window sill, end of story.”

“I don’t get it. Why don’t you repair her sprains, cuts and bruises? Your powers have gotten stronger and more consistently lately.”

“Simple, she won’t let me. I approach her even looking like I’m going to heal her and she totally goes off on me. I don’t get it.”

“Michael? What are you writing in your black book? What is the book?”

“It’s a sort of journal. I’m using it to keep track of my progress and information I need on my project.” Michael looks up to see Maria bringing Max his food. “Here comes my other half ready to poison you with quality fats and sugars.”

Maria smiled at Max as she placed his food and drink in front of him, and because it was slow, she took a seat next to Michael.

“So, Max what’s happening? I see you have that look on your face.”

“There is a new family in town schmoozing Mr. Evans and family. They invited them on a weekend away.”

“Interesting.” Maria turned to Michael. “So I take it we are investigating?”

“Yeah, this weekend. I’m thinking that Saturday night would be good.”

“Nope. Can’t do it Saturday. I’ve plans and they do not include falling out windows, pulling my self up to second story windows, running from angry cops in the desert, or falling off a cliff. I’ve a date with a gentleman who sends me candy and flowers, picks me up at my door, and takes me to a nice romantic dinner for two. Count me out.”

Max watched a stony look take over Michael’s face. The boy had the stonewall look down, but Max also noticed the clenched fist on the table and the whiteness around Michael’s mouth as he kept himself from making a comment that would take him back a few paces in his relationship with Maria.

“I guess I could do it alone. I mean Max and Isabel will be out of town. Tess is no help at all. Alex is still pissed at me. Hmm, maybe Liz is free?”

“Liz is working the late shift here on Saturday night, and after her problems she still has a curfew so getting out is hard.”

“Well, I’ll just do it alone.” Max watched Michael play his cards close to his chest as a small frown of worry appeared on Maria face.

“Okay, I’ll cut my date short and be home by 11:00 pm, if you can wait that long? I’ll go with you after that.”

“Done. Oops, time is short. I better go hit the grill. It’s time for my shift. Max, I’ll talk to you later.”

They watched Michael get up to go to the back room. He dropped money and tips on the table for Maria to cover his food and took his own dishes back with him. Max watched Maria watching him.

“So when are you going to let up and let him back in your life?” Maria turned and looked at Max.

“I know what he is doing. It is sweet, but sometimes it’s just too late. Too little, too late, and it’s all over. I know he’s trying hard, but I don’t just want to be his human girlfriend that he ignores whenever it suits him. And I definitely don’t want to be the least important denominator where anything that wiggles with alien blood taking precedence over me. I think I deserve to be more than just an afterthought.”

“You are hardly an afterthought, Maria. The boy is jumping through hoops for you. I’ve never seen Mr. Guerin cross a street for another person, unless he had a reason. For you, he is building and paving the streets with semi-precious stones. I don’t know that he can get anymore romantic than this.”

“Then tell me this Max, why did he accept that we were over so easily? And tell me that if Courtney hadn’t died that I wouldn’t be watching him and her have a significant relationship? Tell me that, reassure me and I will give him another chance.” Maria sat looking at Max with sad eyes, and he sat speechless. What could he say?

“Exactly. Well, I need to get back to work.” Maria left him to finish his meal. Oh boy, this was worse than he thought.

~~~

Michael was staring up at his ceiling again instead of sleeping. Desperate. That was a word wasn’t it? It has been 8 months, 23 days, 2 hours, and 13, 14, 15… minutes since Maria gave up on him and just a few hours shorter from that since she last spoke his name. They were working as sleuthing partners more and more. It has been so many months now that she actually showed up at his place after school and work and starting putting stuff together. His laundry was mixed with her clothes and his. He wasn’t even surprised to see her wearing one of his shirts the other day. Somehow he became a buddy, a friend to her. And she was happy right now. Maria has been dating the same guy for two months and Michael’s heart was sick. Actually his entire body was sick. He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep, and he felt like he was walking on an emotional edge most days. His body and soul were so tired of having her near, and yet having her so far away. He didn’t know that it was possible to die from a broken heart, but his heart wasn’t broken; it was missing. When she walked away, she took it with her.

He tried everything. He asked her out on a date; she said no. He invited her to the movies; she said no. He bought her flowers; she gave them to an old lonely woman on the street. He sent her presents; she sent them back. The only thing he could do was keep trying. Once he gave up, she would just nod her head and know that she was right in resisting him. Despite everything, she was friendly and nice to him, but she never addressed him by his name. He would have walked through fire to hear his name on her lips, ushered from her mouth. Michael wanted it to be in a breathless moan of passion, but at this point, he would settle for a scream of exasperation and anger. His possessiveness of her was becoming almost pathological. The more time they spent together, the more he wanted. He knew that one name stood between them, Courtney, but he didn’t know how to remove the ghost.

It was almost disgusting how much joy he felt when she rushed into the diner. Coming straight back into the kitchen she stood beside him with her arms crossed and tapping her foot in angry pose.

“I thought we agreed to stop doing this?”

“What? Doing what?”

“The presents, the flowers, the paintings, and the little trinkets that you keep sending. They have to stop. I just spent two hours defending myself to my now ex-boyfriend because of you. You are messing up my life.”

“That’s not my intention at all.”

“Well, it may not be your intention to screw up every normal relationship I’ve tried to create over the last nine months, but there it is. How do I explain all the time we spend sleuthing? I can’t very well come out and say, “No we aren’t involved. He’s just my partner in alien hunting.” Or how do I explain wearing your clothes because I fell in a rushing river and was wet and covered in mud. Or that I missed our date because I was so tired that I fell asleep on your bed and you didn’t wake me. Or how do I explain the flowers waiting in my locker, on my doorstep, or in my bedroom everyday?”

“I can’t help it if your dates don’t like a little competition.”

“You are not competition. You are a none contender. We are through, done, finished, and all so very over. What can I do, what can I say to convince you of this?”

“Nothing.” Michael moved closer into Maria space. “There’s nothing that you can say or do. I’m here and I’m staying. I left you alone at first to let you cool down, let you come to terms with things. But I was wrong. I was wrong to give you space. You think I accepted that you were through with me that easily? You kept by my side all last summer despite my coldness and pushing you away. Why do you think I would value you any less? That is a laugh. I’ve had my heart ripped out of my chest by you, and I keep coming back, begging for more. I would rather live in eternal damnation, torture and pain if it meant being with you. So punish me for every offense I ever caused you, take your pound of flesh, hell take the blood and more if you need it. Rip me to shreds if it makes you feel vindicated. It doesn’t matter anymore. Without you in my life there is nothing of me left to save anyway, so take it, destroy me. I’m nothing without you.”

“Damn you.” Maria turned and rushed out of the room leaving him bleeding inside.

Michael watched her storm away. It was hard. That was more than he ever said. It was raw and it was true. The door slammed behind her. That went well. Michael just cussed under his breath and went back to destroying raw meat.

~~~

“Hi, can we talk?”

“Sure mom, what’s up.”

“Maria, let’s talk about Michael.”

“Let’s don’t. I’m not talking about him. He’s just a friend. I know that I’ve spent a few nights over at his place. Nothing happened I swear. I just fell asleep and he covered me up and let me rest. I’m sorry about that, but I’m going to try to not let that happen again.”

“That’s not what I wanted to talk about Maria.”

“Look mom, you don’t need to worry. I’ve been trying to get him out of my life for well over ten months now, but he just hangs on. But I’m determined to put an end to this.”

“An end to this, an end to what Maria? The greatest love of you life?”

“Mom…”

“No, you listen. I’ve watched you over the last almost two years. When it was all about Michael, I was so concerned about you jumping into having sex with him without thinking of the consequences. I mean the two of you together were dynamic. There was no way that sex wasn’t going to become an issue, soon. You were both to passionate around each other. I could see it, the chemistry. Actually, everyone could see it. Then you broke it off and I admit to being a little relieved. Now you date other boys, and not once in over ten months have I felt a moment of worry. Actually at times I thought I was going to have to cattle prod you out of that dull boring trance you seemed to be in. Those boys were nice, but baby, they didn’t set anything on fire in you. We walk down the street and you see him across the way and your whole body and attitude wakes up, animates, and becomes nuclear. Why are you holding him away from you?”

“I don’t know how to trust him. I don’t trust him when he says he loves me, that he only wants me. He broke trust with me before and I’m afraid to take that chance again. I don’t have the strength to be just a convenience in his life.” Maria looked hard at her mom with sad eyes.

“In the almost last eleven months has he dated anyone else?”

“No. But if Courtney was still here, he might have…”

“Maria, you can’t hang a man for what he may have done, or may not have done. You really don’t know, do you?”

“She worshipped him. Made him feel important and wanted. I could see that in his eyes.”

“And you didn’t do the same for him?”

“No, she had the right genetics. She was special like him.” Maria looked down at her hands shocked at the whiteness as she gripped a brush hard in her hand. “I’m nothing special,” she whispered.

“Okay, I don’t understand that at all, but still, she’s not here. He’s not with her, or anyone. The only person he seems to have an interest in is you. Sometimes you have to take a chance, give a little trust. What are you going to do?” Amy paused and looked at her daughter staring at herself in the mirror. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

~~~

“So did you find out what he was doing all day?”

“No, not really. I just know that he was buying Maria a special present.” Tess looked up from her drink.

“Another one? Boy, he needs to get a second job to cover his Maria worshipping.” Isabel popped a greasy fry into her mouth.

“Shush, here he comes.” Max said quickly as Michael joined them with a large smile on his face. Actually seeing him smile was rare treat that the group of his pod mates had to just take it in.

“So Michael what made your upside down smile turn around?”

“Cute Izzy, but nothing you can say today will spoil my mood. I just spent the day finding Maria the perfect present. So fling all the barbs you want, I’m in good spirits.”

“Okay, curiosity is killing me here. I can’t wait for Maria to tell Liz, so spill. What did you buy her?”

“Patience is a virtue, Maxwell, but since you asked. You know how the movie, The Wizard of Oz is one of Maria’s all time favorites?” The group nodded their heads even though they hadn’t known that. It was strange that Michael did. “Well I just spent the whole day searching, and I might add, finding her some Emerald slippers.”

Michael tossed some food into his mouth wearing a smug smile. This was a great day. After over eleven months of sending Maria presents, he was fast running out of ideas. This one was inspired.

“Emerald slippers?” Isabel asked with one eyebrow up in question.

“Yeah, you know, like the one that the Dorothy chick wore in the movie.” Isabel squirmed in her seat for a second before breaking Michael’s good mood, but Max beat her to it.

“Ruby.”

“What?”

“Ruby, Michael. The slippers were ruby, and the city was the Emerald City.” Michael’s entire face fell and he looked at Max with a look of horror. Slowly looking at both Isabel and Tess, they nodded their agreement with Max.

“No!” Michael’s cry of disbelief followed by his banging his head on the table was too heartfelt to be ignored. Other patrons of the CrashDown looked over to see the young demented man banging his head on the table while the other three watched with looks of sympathies and something else, amusement? Michael was out of his seat and out the door trying to see if he could retrieve the present before Maria received it.

“He’s really, really bad at this.” Isabel and Max had to agree with Tess’s assessment of the situation. “Maybe we should help him?”

“No. Nobody is helping him. He dug this hole himself. It is important that he fixes it without any help from us. He needs to let Maria see that getting her back was worth something to him.”

Both Isabel and Tess agreed with Max, but it was still hard to see Michael work so hard at winning Maria back and making mistakes along the way. Isabel couldn’t help herself.

“Emerald slippers.” She looked at both Tess and Max. All three of them couldn’t contain their mirth for another moment. They fell over in laughter.

~~~

Max found Maria alone after closing at the CrashDown. She was drawn and pensive looking, as if the weight of her own thoughts were dragging her down. He patted her cheek gently to get her attention before sitting down across from her.

“So? Anything new?”

“You know, don’t you?”

“Emerald slippers? Sure, I know.” Max was frozen as Maria put her head in her hands and began to cry deep wracking sobs. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

Maria’s voice was so soft that he had to lean forward to hear her. Taking her hands in his he waited with tender eyes, worried at her tears.

“It’s just so pathetic. Emerald slippers.” Looking up at Max with tear streams somehow making her even more beautiful. “It was so incredibly sweet, pathetic, yes, but sweet none the less. That big lug, no matter how hard I try to keep him away, he keeps finding ways to get in. And now this, he goes and makes this kind of boneheaded error, and I can’t help but be moved. I feel that terrible dark place. You know the deep endless spiral that hollows out your stomach, makes your heart stop in your chest, and nothing feels right without him.” Maria closed her eyes and rested her head back against the booth.

“Maria? Why won’t you let him heal you?”

“Are you crazy? I’m having an impossible time trying to ignore him, to put him off. If he heals me he will know that despite everything, he is more beautiful to me today then he has ever been. How do I survive when Jericho learns how to break down the walls?” Without waiting for an answer, a crying Maria got up and went into the back area leaving Max to ponder the mess that was Michael and Maria.

~~~

“Maria?” She looked up from the book she was reading in the back break room. There was Alex and Kyle with Max coming in behind them.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing much, we were just talking about how we need to check out the owners of the new ice cream establishment on Wilson St. You want to come for an ice cream cone? My treat?”

“I don’t know. My shift starts in just under a half an hour. Michael is working too, and we were going to check something out after our shifts are over.”

“It’s not going to take that long, just a quick trip.” Maria thought about it for a moment.

“I could eat.” When Maria got up to go with them she noticed Alex sitting down.

“Alex, aren’t you coming, too?”

“No. I’m supposed to be meeting the Sheriff here in a few moments. We were going to do a quick check on some electronics. I would come, but I’m afraid I’ll miss him. Just bring me back a cone or something.” Alex looked over at Kyle. “Hey, Kyle, you going with them?”

“Sure, why not. I’m always game for some extra fats and empty calories. Tell dad that I will be back soon, okay?” Alex nodded his okay as the others were out the door.

When Michael entered the back break room he looked for Maria. They were both scheduled to work tonight, and he was late. He was surprised at not finding her in the back room since she was rarely late. Maria was worrying him lately. It was like she was avoiding him since the whole slipper fiasco. But he was noticing that she was watching him from the corner of her eyes at time. Going to her locker, he opened it and put in a small bundle of snap dragons with a little picture he drew of her old Dalmatian dog that she had when she was seven.

Michael wandered over to see Alex and Valenti for a few moments. Alex had finally given him some space about six months ago over Maria. He even actually helped Michael a few times when it became apparent how much Michael was trying. Both Alex and Valenti were caught up in a talk about electronics and were busy looking at some kind of machine in Alex’s hand.

“Hey, Alex? You see Maria?” Alex looked up, as did Jim.

“Yeah, she went with Max and Kyle to check out the new ice cream place. They should be back in a few.” Alex looked down at his wrist and frowned. “Actually, they should have been back a while ago. It was just a quick look around.”

“Hold it. They went for ice cream right?”

“No, man. They went to check out the new owners as a potential evil aliens.” Michael hair on the back of his neck and arms bristled. A sense of outrage moved over his body as a stormy look came over his face.

“They took my Maria with them sleuthing, to checking out this place?”

“Sure. They asked and she went.”

“They can’t do that. Why did you let them do that?” Valenti looked over at the look of outrage anger of Michael’s face.

“Son, what’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you what it wrong. Maria is my partner. She goes investigating and sleuthing with me, not with anyone else. Who do they think they are taking my partner without asking? They can’t protect her, take care of her, or keep an eye on her.” Michael started pacing with his hands flying. “She gets into trouble.”

“Son, they were just going to have a quick ice cream and look around. I’m sure that they are on their way back as we speak.” Valenti gave Alex a searching look. What a nut case. Suddenly the back door flew open and in rushed one of Valenti’s deputies.

“Sheriff, your radio is off, and we have a situation.”

“Calm down, Hanson. What situation?” Both Alex and Michael turned to listen to the deputy. Michael could feel fear swirling deep inside his gut.

“A tourist called about a possible kidnapping and a fire at the new ice cream shop on Wilson.” Before Hanson could get the information out of his mouth, the Sheriff, Alex, and Michael were out the door in a dead run.

The scene outside the shop area was chaos. Emergency vehicles were lined up along the street with the Roswell PD pushing back observers while the fire department were combating open flames. Sheriff moved towards the scene with Alex and Michael hot on his tail. Jim looked up and down the street for his son, and then at the building currently being engulfed in flames.

“Kyle!” Before Valenti could run into the burning building, the fire chief and his best friend Walt stopped him.

“Whoa there Jim, everyone is out of the shop. We are just trying to get the flames under control.”

“Kyle was in there.”

“If he was, he’s not anymore. I haven’t seen him on the scene. Maybe he was one of the people that moved away from the building when it caught on fire. Your deputy over there is taking eyewitness accounts if you want to find Kyle. Maybe one of the eyewitnesses can give you a clue as to what happen. But I need all of you back behind the barricade. This place is going up if we don’t get it under control before it hits the propane tanks in the back. We’re trying to save the adjoining Bank.” Jim gave his friend a quick nod and was off to question his deputy. Michael paused to pick something off the ground. It was Maria’s CrashDown antennas.

“Rogers, give me a report. Did anyone see my son?”

“Sheriff, I’ve two tourist that saw the whole thing. They were in the ice cream shop when it happened, and one eyewitness outside.” Michael pushed past Valenti and grabbed the young deputy by the neck and started shaking him.

“Maria, where is Maria? What happened to her?” Valenti and Alex pulled Michael off the deputy before he choked the life from him.

“Michael, stop threatening and choking my deputy. He can’t tell us what happened if he’s dead.”

“Then tell him to hurry. Is she hurt? Did they take her to the hospital? Oh my God, she was probably severely burned.” Michael moved back towards the deputy with threatening intent despite being restrained by Alex and Jim. “Speak up now, or I’ll…”

“Michael! Get a grip on yourself.” Valenti pushed Michael back and looked at his man. “Deputy, please?”

“According to a young couple in the shop at the time of the incident, three young people, two boys and a girl had entered the store. The young men got their ice cream almost immediately, but the young girl was undecided between the varieties. So she stayed at the counter for a while tasting little samples of different flavors. Anyway, the young man behind the counter seemed more than happy to help her make a choice. The eyewitnesses thinks that they were flirting.” The deputy pulled at his collar and step back a pace at the sound of a menacing growl from the crazy lunatic that the Sheriff was restraining.

“Anyway, the young girl asked for a restroom before she made her selection and the young clerk showed her where it was at. Meanwhile the other two young men had disappeared into the back room to follow the girl when they noticed she was missing. Next there was loud noise, a scream from the young girl, an older man’s voice, and a large exploding sound followed by a large crash. The eyewitness could hear running up the back steps and then suddenly flames were everywhere. They rushed out of the store and hurried to find a telephone to call emergency vehicles.”

“So there were still people inside, and they had gone upstairs?”

“Yes, sir. But the outside witness is a tourist. He heard the explosion and then screaming on top of the building. There on the roof were people and they were screaming, and the eyewitness thought he heard gunshots.”

“What!” Valenti looked at Michael’s face pale.

“Then, that is when the story became confusing, sir. The eyewitness was a little hard to understand.”

“Where is he?”

“Over there by the police cruiser.” Before Valenti could stop him, Michael broke free and rushed over to grab the pedestrian.

“I want to know what happened to Maria, and I want to know, right now.” Valenti grabbed Michael off the poor tourist while Alex calmed the man from being accosted by the very demented raging bull.

“Michael, this is the last time I will pull you off of someone. If you can’t get some control, I will personally lock you up in a psyche ward myself.” Valenti turned to address the young male tourist. “Sir, could you tell us what happened here.”

“Sure. Dude, is the psycho guy like okay, or what?” Valenti added pressure to Michael as he pulled to get away again.

“Sir, please. We are looking for missing friends.”

“Hey, no worries, man. I was like getting out of my car when I heard all this noise, you see. The building liked exploded into massive flames and this couple came running out. But up on the roof were like all these people, and they were not so happy, they were like yelling and stuff, and this big ugly guy had like this gun and he was shooting at these young dudes. So they jumped off the building.”

“What? Did you say they jumped off the building?” Valenti looked at Michael in concern when he seemed to lose his fight and groaned into his hands. “Who exactly jumped off the building?”

“Oh, these young dudes, well actually, it was like these two young dudes, a dark-haired one with ears, and another young jock dude, and this really hot babe. They had to jump you know because the ugly dude kept shooting at them. So anyway they like landed in that large trash thing over there. Man it must of hurt because they were cussing and the hot babe was hurt.”

“What hurt? How was she hurt?” Michael grabbed his by the front of his shirt.

“Chill man, careful with the silks, this stuff costs a fortune.” Michael gave the young man a harsh look. “Yeah, well she was limping and you could see that her knee was banged up a bit. The guys crawled out of the trash and helped her out. Both guys took her arm when the bad dudes arrived. The young bad dude started fighting the jock, and the older bad ugly dude hit the dark-haired dude over the head with the back of his gun. The babe saw this and took a huge pipe and hit the guy upside his head. But, man, like nothing happened. This big ugly guy should have went down, but instead he backhanded the babe, which really pissed her off, and then he put her over his shoulder and dumped her in the trunk of this car. She was yelling and screaming and kicking the ugly guy and beating him with her fist. She kept calling for some Mickey Mouse dude. I didn’t see Mickey Mouse, but I thought it was the young dark-haired dude with the ears, you know.” Michael’s heart stopped in his throat and he saw spots behind his eyes. Maria must have been calling for him, calling his name. It has been 1 year, 13 days, 7 hours, and 21, 22, 23… minutes since she last said his name. And now when she does he wasn’t even there. He let her down again.

“Then the young bad dude gets away from jock dude and gets in the car with the babe screaming and pounding in the trunk. They like take off, kidnapping the hot babe.”

“Kidnapped?” Michael shut his eyes and groaned louder. Oh yeah, this kept getting better and better. Valenti just listened in horror.

“The two young dudes, jock and ears jumped in this old jeep and took off after the kidnappers. The jock guy was like swearing up a storm. He kept repeating that Mickey Mouse was going to rip off their arms and feed it too them if anything happened to hot babe.” Michael looked up and nodded, that Kyle was smarter than he looked.

“So that’s about all, you know except the fire.” The brain dead tourist gave his sad nod.

Alex stood watching Michael in concern as Valenti quickly thanked the eyewitness and grabbed his radio putting an APB out on the jeep. They jumped into the Sheriff’s car and took off down the road that Kyle and Max were last seemed taking. The call came in quick from highway patrol. They were in full pursuit of a jeep and a late model sedan heading south on 285. Valenti hit the sirens and sped down the road. Michael sat stone cold silent next to him in the passenger seat listening to the reports over the police ban. Alex’s hands were white from gripping the backs of the seat. It was the report of the sedan going over a washed out gulch area and flipping repeatedly that robbed Michael of what was left of his color. He just sat there silently shaking his head no.

By the time Valenti arrived at the scene there was only one highway patrol car on the side of the road with the jeep. Max and Kyle were both handcuffed and trying to get down to the car with Maria in it. They were having problems since their hands were behind their backs. Two highway patrol men were unconscious on the side of the road with the vehicle open with flashing lights, but the other car cop unit was gone. They jumped out of the truck as soon as Valenti stopped and rushed down to the over turn car. Valenti stopped long enough to feel pulses on the two down officers and call it in that officers were down and suspects had commandeered a police cruiser. He ordered assistance and EMT to the scene.

Alex and Michael quickly met up with Kyle and Max, and then passed them. Alex looked over at Michael worried about the young man sanity. He kept repeating under his breath that Maria was his partner, his, that people shouldn’t borrow things that they can’t take care of. When he passed both Kyle and Max he used his powers and shoved both of them down. Reaching the car first he checked the trunk. It was still locked and the car was turned over on its roof.

“Michael, wait.” Max screamed at Michael worried that what he would find wouldn’t be good that Maria would be dead.

“Michael? Michael are you out there.” Michael’s breath pushed out of his body at the beautiful sound of Maria’s voice coming from the trunk. “Get me out of here! Michael?”

“Hang on, honey.”

Using his powers he popped the lock off the trunk. Because the car was upside down, Maria came tumbling out to the trunk and went crashing to the ground in a large thump. Michael’s cry of dismay and running towards Maria stopped Alex in his tracks. Maria was bleeding from a tear on her knee, and a serious gash on her head across her right temple. He stopped to watch Michael pick up his partner gently in his arms whispering words in her ear. Turning quickly to give them some privacy he found Valenti releasing Max and Kyle from their cuffs. Max was staring stony faced at the other couple while Kyle was actually whining.

“This isn’t our fault. She gets into trouble. I always thought it was Guerin, but it’s not. She is a trouble magnet. He’s going to kill us. You know he’s going to kill us. I want to go home and forget this day ever happened. Dad, I want to go home.” Valenti looked up to see a very angry raging Michael Guerin stomping towards them carrying a wounded Maria in his arms. He pushed his son behind him in safety from the demented beast.

“Look, look what they did? I told you. I told you.”

“Michael, son, calm down. Maria is fine. She just needs some…”

“Fine? You call this fine? They broke her!” The entire group stopped in silence at the severely sanity challenged Michael. The man had just lost his entire cool and his last marbles. He was beyond reasoning.

“Son, you were right. They should have never taken your partner.” Michael glared at Kyle and Max nodding his agreement. Good now they know, partner, his, not there’s. Mine. Keep your damn hands off.

“Okay, Michael? Maria is going to need some attention.” Valenti saw his deputy and other support vehicles pull up. “I’m going to send the two of you back to Roswell in my deputy’s car. We will see you when we get back. I can trust you to see to her wounds?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good man. Now go.” Michael took off with one last glare at Kyle and Max carrying his precious cargo home. Valenti just shook his head. That boy was a serious nut case. Looking at the other two and the mess around them he knew it would be hours before they straightened out what really happened.

“Okay, now that the nut case is gone, suppose one or both of you tell me what is going on here?”

“Umm, well actually dad, I think Max should tell you since he’s the fearless leader.”

“Max?”

“Well, they weren’t aliens. They were bank robbers.”

“What?” Both Valenti and Alex stared in shock.

“We went in to check out the store. Maria was chatting up the clerk and Kyle and I were eating our ice cream and looking around. You may have noticed that it shares a common wall with the bank. Anyway, we turned around and saw that Maria and the clerk were gone, so we followed. I was afraid that Maria was snooping around in the back rooms in the middle of the day. When we stepped back there we heard Maria screaming. She had left the bathroom and wandered into a back room. This older guy was busy hollowing out a place in the wall and packing it with explosives. Maria had walked in on him. When he saw her, he pulled a gun and she screamed. Maria picked up some kind of bucket and threw it at the guy’s head; he fell backwards and dropped an ignition switch. Kyle and I were close enough to see the horror on his face just before it blew, so we grabbed Maria and pulled her back out into the hall.”

“Maria shouted that he had a gun and we all ran up the stairs that were in the hall because we couldn’t make it back into the main store. So we went up to the roof. We were hoping to find roof access ladders to climb down. When we got there, there was none. The guy with the gun and his young clerk followed us up on the roof. We were hiding behind a metal air outtake vent while they shot at us. Maria told me to use my shield to protect us long enough to jump off the building.”

“That was her idea?”

“Yeah, I swear. So we all jumped. It was an easy choice when faced with bullets or a two-story drop, and we could hear the fire below. When we hit the trash dumpster we were all pretty beaten, but Maria hit her knee on the side of the dumpster when she came down. So we got out of the trash and helped her out. Kyle kept complaining about how bad this was and how upset Michael was going to be. Maria said that it wasn’t really that bad. Kyle told her it was the worse day of his life and she says that it looked pretty normal to her.”

“With her and Guerin’s track record, I suppose it was a normal day at the office.”

“So while we were helping her out of the trash, trying not to bang her leg and needing to get to the authorities, they attacked us. They almost knocked Kyle and me out. Maria picked up what looked like a pipe and hit the guy on the head that cold-cocked me, but it wasn’t a pipe, it was PVC piping. They took her as a hostage and fled the scene. Kyle and I knew that if we didn’t follow that we would probably never see Maria again, or at least not alive. So we took after them. The highway patrol picked us up speeding and the kidnappers lost control of their car. I was never so afraid in my life as watching that car tumble down the dry gulch. We stopped and got out. Two highway patrol cars pulled up and they told us to put our hands on our heads. One called in the accident and the other handcuffed us. While their heads were turned, the kidnappers came up behind them and knocked them out. The big ugly guy said he was sorry about the feisty chick and they got into the car and drove away. That is when you found us. We were on our way to check on Maria and get her out of the trunk before the car blew.”

Valenti rubbed a hand across his face. This was impossible. What happened to his nice little town with a history of alien crashes, where a crime spree was the latest Rave and teenagers dragging the main stretch on the weekends?

“Is it my imagination, or did Roswell just become the most dangerous town in America?”

~~~

“I said to just drop us off at my apartment.”

“Sorry, but I think that girl needs medical attention. I will take you to the hospital and then to the station to give a statement.”

“Deputy, I think you heard the Sheriff. He said he would come to my place to talk to us. So that must mean that going to my place is okay.”

“I still think that I should take her to a hospital. She hasn’t said a word since we started back.”

Michael drew in a shaky breath and swallowed a large lump. Maria hadn’t said a word because she had her hand inside his shirt, and her mouth was busy kissing his neck leaving a very large mark.

“Just call Valenti!” Michael bent down and smelled her hair moving his hands over her back, enjoying being able to touch her for the first time in over a year. The evil deputy picked up his hand receiver and made a call to Valenti’s unit.

“Understood, Sir.” The deputy hung up his receiver and gave Michael a glare in the rear-view mirror. Once they hit Roswell the deputy quickly deposited his charges at Michael’s building.

Michael carried Maria to his apartment. Sitting her down on the sofa he quickly kissed her before rushing off to find a first aid kit and some gauze. Coming back with a bowl of warm water, cloth, and supplies, Michael unbuttoned Maria’s uniform and pulled a clean t-shirt over her head. She looked awesome in Metallica. Gently cleaning her scratches and abrasions, he paid special attention to her gash on her head and the wrecked knee.

“God, baby, you scare me. Look what you did.” Leaning forward he pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her head kissing the gash better. It was deep and still bleeding despite added pressure. She was going to need suturing and x-rays to check for fractures. She probably was concussed. Maria gasped when he kissed her head. She could feel the warmth move over her skin, and suddenly she felt better.

“You healed me didn’t you?” Michael couldn’t believe it. The gash was gone and her eyes were already clearing, becoming more aware and alert.

“Yeah. That never happened before.”

“You really take the saying, “kissing it better” to extremes, Michael.”

“You said my name again.”

“Sure. Why not? You haven’t changed it or something?”

“No, it’s just that since a year ago, you haven’t said my name.”

“Really? I didn’t realize that.” Maria moved closer with her lips almost touching his and her breath moving across his mouth. “Did you miss it?”

“Yes. Everyday, every moment was like a knife, telling me that I couldn’t have you back.”

“You must have suffered?”

“I did.”

“Good.” Maria moved her mouth the final inch to join his in a kiss that went deep immediately. The groan from deep inside his throat pulled her even deeper into the kiss. Her mother was going to have to start worrying again, because sex was going to become an issue. He pulled the taste of her inside, savoring it in case it was taken away again. No one ever kissed him like she did. With Maria it was more than lip and tongues. It was a promise, an exploration, and epicurean adventure. Kissing was never the end, but rather the beginning of something visceral and alive. He sucked air into his tortured lungs when finally they parted. He head went back with his eyes closed enjoying the feeling of being alive and free with Maria at his side.

“Michael?”

“Hmm?”

“My knee really hurts.” His eyes came open when he realized that he had yet to finished seeing to her bruises and wounds. Reaching over her leg, he placed his hand over the mangles kneecap and gathered her up into his arms. With another deep kiss that seemed to search for her soul, his kiss made him captive to her as he surrendered what little was left of his own free will.

She could feel the warmth on her knee under his hand as torn ligaments were repaired and the pain subsided. As he continued kissing her she could feel him, really feel him, like molecules of blood and the very atoms of his body rushed passed in blinding speeds. It was like a pulse of warmth moved over her whole body and collected in her abdomen and pelvic region. God, she wanted him really bad. Pulling back almost in shock she met his eyes that were half closed and very dark. She realized that the feelings were deeply shared by the both of them equally. He smiled a promise of things to come and picked up the medical supplies.

As soon as Michael came back from putting away the supplies, he pulled his love against him, closed his eyes, and whispered, "I'm so tired, Maria."

"I know. We're going to bed."

He couldn't help but smile. "Bed?"

"To sleep, Michael."

His body tightened at the word and Maria pulled away enough to meet his eyes. "Don't worry, honey. I'm going to make sure all your dreams from now on will be good ones. When was the last time you really slept?"

"You promise? It’s been over a year."

"Promise." Standing up gently and testing out her newly mended knee she reached to pull him after her leading him into his bedroom, to his bed.

Still dressed in his Metallica t-shirt, Maria kicked off her shoes and let them drop beside the bed. She pulled her legs up and curled in closer to Michael. The pressure against her bruises hurt, but not enough to make her want to have Michael stop moving. He was moving his hands all over her body along with his mouth, leaving kisses on her skin. His hands slowly found all the scrapes and bruises along the way, healing them. Having him hold her was worked better to soothe misery than any pain pill she could imagine.

"We have to talk, Maria."

"Does it have to be right now?" She winced, suppressing a groan brought on by the unexpected shift as Michael sat up, his back braced against the pillow.

"Yeah, I think it does." Michael had spent the last year working out what needed to be said and how it needed to be told.

Seeing the determination, Maria sighed and nodded. "Okay. Where do you want to start?"

"Courtney. We start with Courtney. I want to start with the ghost that stands between us. I know that you thought I was attracted to her that I was pulled in by flattery. I also have come to believe that you think that had she not died that I would have become involved with her.” Michael paused to see how Maria was taking the conversation. She refused to make any move, but kept her head against his body. “You would’ve been both right and wrong. I would’ve pursued a relationship with her.”

Michael quickly tightened his grip on Maria. She was trying to get up and move away from him. “Be still. The time for us to avoid this is over. That relationship, Maria would have been about finding out about my past, about what I was, who my parents were, and everything that led to my death in that other lifetime. It wasn’t going to be anything more than that. No kissing, no showering together, and definitely no lovemaking. I did kiss her to get into her place so I could search it. I was wrong. I didn’t see how kissing her could matter if I wasn’t really all that involved in it. But, I was wrong, because it wasn’t just about me; it was about you, too. I didn’t get it at first, not until I realized how betrayed you felt and surprisingly how guilty I felt. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Michael lifted Maria’s head away from his body so he could make eye contact with her. “I would have built a relationship based on information, and the need for that information, but never once or at anytime did I or would I’ve considered a relationship based on romance. Jesus, Maria, she pursued me for months and I avoided her, and that was when we were apart. I wouldn’t wait two days after I get back together with you, after I finally decide to let you into my life to take her up on her offer. Learn to trust me a little more than that. I know that I make mistakes, but that was one I wasn’t going to make.”

Taking her hand in his and bringing her finger to his lips, he pulled them into his mouth and sucked on them slightly biting them. Followed by kissing her hand and nipping the inside of her wrist. He could smell her and if he concentrated he could feel the rush of her life’s blood beneath his lips. It left his insides hollow and empty, a place that only she could fill.

“I was upset and sad to lose the information that Courtney could have given me, but I can survive without it. I can go on and try to find it someplace else, somewhere else. But, losing you? I can’t survive losing you, Maria. I spent months worrying about you, worrying that I was going to be the biggest mistake of your life, the one mistake that gets you killed. But, I rather worry about you while holding you in my arms, then worry about you while you are with someone else. I don’t like not having you in my life, and I don’t like sharing you with other people. I can’t explain to you how deep this goes, but maybe I can show you.”

Michael reached over into his bedside table’s drawer and pulled out his very worn black book, the journal. Handing it Maria, he silently watched her open it and begin reading. Maria’s heart stopped. It became lodged somewhere in her throat. In the book he had sketches of her, lists of her likes and dislikes, a detailed journal of every day since she stopped saying his name, every refusal, every gift, every time he worked or manipulated situations to spend time with her, pasted in personal items, lock of her hair, the pages smelled of her favorite scent, he colored the edges of the book with her favorite color, and the list went on. There were pages of love poetry, songs that reminded him of her, things that she said that he found too “Maria”, and so much more.

“You did all this? You wrote me love poetry?”

“Yes. This is the extent of my obsession on paper. I don’t want you to get freaked out by this, nor do I want to use this as a tactic to get you to let me in.” He moved closer to her and whispered in her ear. “I’m through Maria, I’m through manipulating situations, chasing you and finding ways to trick you into spending time in my life, exhausting you to make you spend time in my bed. I’m giving you back the choice, to take me as I’m, to trust that I love you more than my own life.”

Maria thought about all the times over the last year that he dragged her from one situation to another, monopolizing her time, exhausting her until she fell asleep in his apartment, and all the dates she had to cancel. Truth and reality are ugly things at times, but ignoring them, wishing them gone can be so hard that is better to finally just stand up and live in the light, the truth.

“Do you think it would bother you if I slept here tonight?”

Shocked by the question, Michael pulled back to focus on the entire picture of the woman lying next to him, the insecurity playing across his features. "Well, I kind of hoped you would."

"Hoped?"

Suddenly uncomfortable, Michael used his hands to prop himself more upright, his body protesting in earnest wanting to be lying closer to her. "Yeah, hoped, prayed, desired. There are so many adjectives to describe what I want. But, this is about what you want. I’m through trying to bend you to my needs, after what we been to each other in the past, I just sort of thought that you understood that's what I wanted, what I need, and now I’m willing to let you tell me what you want, what you need."

"I want it, too, Michael, but I think we need to be clear and say things instead of just assuming or hoping. Communication was always our downfall. Are you okay with that?"

"Sure, I guess."

"You guess?"

"It's just that I don't think we have to discuss every little thing before we actually do it."

Tilting her head, her eyes focused clearly on Michael as she pondered. "Like what? What would you like to do that you don't want to talk about first?"

"Well, this for one." Leaning over, he brushed his lips against Maria's, the quick intake of breath pleasing. Tongue tip, sweet and slick, licked against her mouth as he pressed forward with vigor. Probing in deeper, the heat swelled and contrasted with the unyielding teeth surrounded by satin smoothness. He swallowed the husky moan and pulled back, desire even stronger.

"Oh, yeah, I see the difference. Doing works better than talking. There is a lot to recommend spontaneity."

"I think so."

He ran his fingers along her delicate jaw line, the softness of the skin and beautiful texture, unlike his own, and yet all the better for the different. A hand captured his as Maria whispered, "Michael, this whole thing feels like it's going too fast. I’ve been trying to avoid you for so long, and so hard. I want you so much, it scares me."

"Scares you?" Relaxing back against his pillow, he smiled and let Maria keep his hand as he spoke. Confidence in his decision pushed his words, glad to finally be honest. "I thought I was the one who was afraid, Maria? The one with intimacy issues?"

"I know, but you're not the only one who dreams scary stuff, or worries."

"Like what?"

"Like sometimes I think about what it would be like to be together, but I've never had that with anyone before. I've got nothing to go by. Mom never stayed with anyone for very long and I guess I just sort of learned that if you didn't expect much in terms of commitment, you didn't set yourself up to be hurt. My absentee father reinforced the idea. You were the first person I tried to build something solid with, something sacred, and when you proved me wrong, and them right, I lost faith."

"And you've dreamed about that?"

"I’ve dreamed about you. I've dreamed of failing, of being alone, being deserted, yeah."

Squeezing her hand, his body yearned for closeness. "We both want the same thing, Maria. I don't want to be alone either." He took a deep breath, trying to frame the confusion with some kind of order. "I think that I pushed you away like I did because I've always fucked up before. Living through all that shit with Hank made me see how unlovable I was, how undeserving. You get told your wrong, stupid, and worthless enough, often enough, that it is hard to trust in yourself. I didn’t believe in your love, in my love, because I never felt it before. I didn’t recognize it for what it was, until I had already destroyed it. Losing that feeling, losing you was harder than any beating I ever took."

"Do you think that all my insecurities and all your insecurities were feeding each other? Feeding the fear that you'd hurt me or fail to protect me?"

"I've done it before with people I said I loved. Don't forget about my past life as a warrior and protector. I was a miserable soldier. I'll be the first to admit that. I had to be. We all died. It’s hard to imagine that fault wasn’t mine that I failed to protect and serve. I’ve practically failed at everything I’ve done in this life, why should I suspect that the last life was different? I didn't plan to be in love with you, with anyone, but I didn't know what to do differently, how to stop myself from falling, and I was angry with myself for not caring, for wanting it, wanting you. I took it out on you for making me care. It was just so much easier not to care about anyone or anything, because you can’t hurt over losing what you never have. I'm sort of like you, I guess."

"How?"

"Well, your mom never stuck with one man and your father never stuck with his family. And I guess mine never did either. They brought me back, but without purpose, without a family. Max has Isabel, but I’ve always been alone. At least your mom kept you with her." Maria moved her hand over him, touching him again with compassion and love, her green eyes dark and sympathetic while she continued to listen. "I might as well have slammed you against the wall, breaking you like I did with Pierce for the pain I caused."

Maria scooted even closer, and draped herself over Michael putting her hands in his hair and holding his head firm in her hands. "I love you, Michael. The only way you could hurt me is turning away."

"That's not going to happen."

After a long pause and moving her hand down to unbutton his shirt, tentative massage of his nipple under his cotton shirt, Maria spoke in a hush. "So, we're both afraid, huh?"

"Seems like it."

"What should we do then?"

Hugging her tighter, Michael rested his chin on the soft hair and playing with the ends of it. "Well, we could try living together."

"Yeah, that's true. I sure that it would last a few days before my mother tracked you down and annihilated you."

"I know how you drop the wet towels on the bathroom floor and I forgive you. The grumpy butt mornings are even kind of cute sometimes. And the way you find my favorite t-shirts to steal and wear makes me feel that we are somehow of a same mind. I love the way you look in my clothes, DeLuca."

The smile against his chest grew wider. "You would appreciate me more out of your clothes, Guerin. Of course, this is a moot point, because you would be dead if my mother even suspect you were suggesting cohabitation."

"I'm not going to come right out and tell her. I thought we should just set up house and work the logistics out later."

"So, I guess what you're really saying is that we've already tested some of the sticking points a lot of people run into when they start a relationship. That part's been tested."

"Yeah, I guess that's what I'm saying. I just think we trust and love each other already, but we're just not sure about ourselves yet. Why is that?"

"Maybe because we've fucked up so royally before?"

"It's a theory." Leaning his head back, he soaked in the warm comfort of holding the woman he loved more than anyone or anything in his life. "I guess we just have to jump in and try it, have faith that neither of us would love a total loser and go with that. No way am I giving you up now."

"Me neither. So can I stay awhile?" Michael rolled over moving her under his body leaning over her and slowly mapping the beautiful curves of her face, her awesomely kissable lips, and finally coming to rest on her beautiful eyes.

“Stay forever.”

“Okay.” Sealing the promise with a kiss, his hands ran over her body, up under his shirt as she pulled his clothes off leaving him in his boxers only. Finally resting against each other, and for the first time in a year the light in his room didn’t bother him, because it meant that he could watch her sleep. They both moved to that place were peace finally allows you to find a long awaited rest.

Closing his eyes, drifting, he whispered, "Let's just sleep together and see what happens."

"I already know what happens, Michael."

"What?"

"Magic."

The End