PYGMALION

 

by DocPaul

 

 

 

Chapter Four: Beggars to a thief…

 

Day Four: Friday, 2:13 am

 

"When was your shift over?" Sean asked quietly in the dark. Julia paused in taking off her clothes. He was lying back in their bed, naked and lounging, with one arm across his lower body suggestively and the other under his head. Heaven didn’t create such angels who looked like demons. Wicked. A darkness lived in him, but the purity of his heart cleansed his soul.

 

Julia's eyes widened and then she grinned. "Technically, we don’t have shifts, Officer."

 

"Care to have dinner with me? My treat?" Julia dropped her clothes in abandon and walked towards him slowly.

 

"Sure. I'd like that." Sitting on the bed next to him, her hand ran down his body, her one finger moving along the lines of his muscles. “Are you on the menu?”

 

Sean watched her in the late night gloom of their room. He was pissed. Very pissed. She hadn’t called, and since he couldn’t sleep not knowing where she was, he laid in their bed waiting, knowing she would have undressed and come to bed without waking him. That knowledge only fed the fuel of his anger. But it wasn’t just anger, it was more. He needed more from her. Proof. Physical proof that she saw him, wanted him, and wanted to be with him. "Appetizer, main course and dessert."

 

“Dessert?” Julia moved in close to him, her mouth just touching his. “I love dessert. It’s the whole purpose to any meal.”

 

Julia gave him an enigmatic smile and moved away. Following her, his mouth rejoined hers for more than just a moment. What started as a teasing kiss, soon became a fire of need and passion. Her intensity hit him hard, bouncing along the awareness building in his spine. Need. He wasn’t the only one running on fumes and broken feet. She needed something too. Power. Control. Him.

 

“You’re a wreck tonight, Counselor. What demons are you chasing?”

 

“Witness protection. It didn’t go down well. Our safehouses were overturned three times.”

 

Sean swore, but bit his tongue. “And your witness?”

 

“He didn’t make it on the third strike. So the bastard wins again.”

 

"How close were you?" He had to ask. He had to know.

 

"A block away when the house went. Looked like an exploding gas line, but the smell in the air suggested other things."

 

Sean ground his teeth, but held his tongue, lecturing himself. Be smart. For fucking once, be smart. He nodded at her to acknowledge her disappointment. "I'm here if you need to talk."

 

Julia smiled politely. "Don't know your name yet. Mine is Julia - Julia MacLeod."

 

"Detective Sean DeLuca, at your service. My hide is yours to command."

 

They grinned at each other, both trying to keep it light. The tension in the air was stifling, but beneath their idle conversation, a growing sexual tension was building. Sean studied every detail of Julia, her incredibly shiny hair, the two silver hoops in her ear and her lush lips, along with the smallness of her firm breasts which peeked out of the camisole as she toyed with its hem, suggesting a frailty that was just not so. Julia could only see the brilliance of his eyes, the sardonic smile that flashed now and then in that hard, chiseled face. It made her go weak inside. She could have died and left him all alone. Stupid. It was all so stupid.

 

The shadows got a bit darker and Julia dragged him up from his resting perch to face her head-on. She leaned over to kiss him. Willingly Sean slung his arms around her and let himself fall backwards, taking Julia with him. Burying Sean under her, Julia devoured his hot mouth. The sheets were cool and the writhing bodies heated up fast against each other. Julia had her arms around his strong neck and Sean held on at her waist, stroking the bare skin between panties and camisole, running his hands up and down the silky slightness of her female body. It was clumsy and desperate but very arousing. They stayed there for a while just kissing and groping.

 

Julia marveled at the gentleness of her detective, and how at times, he was proving to contain so many contradictions. Gentle, brusque, hard, unyielding, and even hot and sexy. She had never had such a strong lover before and it was exciting how he willingly gave over control and wanted to be the submissive. She slipped her hands over his body feeling for the powerful muscles, loving how easily he could subdue and crush her, but her head was whirling, heady in the knowledge that he would not. Sean grunted as she slipped a hand between them to squeeze him in a tight grip. Sean gasped. He couldn't stand this playing around any longer.

 

"Do you plan to eat? Or are you just going to pick at the food?" he murmured breathlessly.

 

"Oh, I plan to feast on a full meal. Do you want to come with me?" Julia answered, a bit surprised that Sean was offering himself up tonight. She could feel the tension in him, and part of her expected him to need to exert the control in their relationship.

 

"I want you. Everything can wait until later."

 

"Sean, I’m not in a very playful mood tonight."

 

Sean let her go reluctantly and got up. He could barely keep his hands from her, shocked to see the disheveled look of her face when the subdued light of the night filtered in through the unclosed blinds.

 

“What are you in the mood for?”

 

“Lots of you.” 

 

Standing beside the bed, he cocked his head. "I could stand with being had."

 

Julia grinned. "Mine?"

 

"Sure. Why not?"

 

Julia drank in the man, gazing up and down at him as he stood in front of her.

 

"C'mon, what are you waiting for?" Sean asked with a challenge in his voice. Bad boy.

 

Julia quickly was off the bed and shoved him towards it where she pushed him on his back. Climbing over him she gripped a fistful of hair and started to ravage his mouth. Sean moaned. He'd known she liked it rough, a touch of violence and passion. He loved that about her, because she was his equal in so many ways.

 

"Don't hold back - you know I like it!" He goaded.

 

Julia bent Sean's head back and mauled his throat. He grunted and writhed under the assault, refusing to be still and just take it. The pain and pleasure of her mouth on his neck shot straight to his cock. Working her way down Julia bit and sucked hard at the salty flesh. His pierced nipple was her target. She tore at it while she held the man down at his upper arms, pressing him into the mattress. Still, Sean writhed too much for her taste. She got the cuffs from the bedside table. They kept them there just for times like these. When Sean saw them his eyes sparkled in anticipation and something else. Something dark and daring.

 

Deftly Julia chained his wrists over his head to the headboard. Sitting on untied legs, she admired her victim. Julia returned the gaze from under half-lidded eyes. Red welts were already showing around his throat and left nipple.

 

Her voice was husky. “God, we really need to work on your resistance.”

 

“Are you calling me easy?”

 

“No. That is pretty damn obvious. I’m calling you a slut.”

 

 Sean just laughed. Well, just as long as they were clear on that.

 

Julia looked him over critically. He was so damn perfect. So willing to let her take control of him when she felt the need to have some control. He was pretty pliable in that regard, and it ran a risk. At times, she felt her humanity slip, and a long dark violence rise inside her. It scared her how easy it would be to really hurt him. It was even scarier that he would let her.

 

As long as she didn't really lose it it would be okay. Julia sighed and scooted back from the bed stripping her remaining clothing off. She threw her camisole after the panties and climbed back on the bed, kneeling over her prey she admired the wonderful sight. Helpless, weak, sexy. Sean went crazy when Julia was towering over him like this. She looked dangerous, mad. Her brilliant irises were gleaming as a smile touched the corner of her mouth. Sean groaned. Damn, he loved her!

 

"Are you ready to fly?" Julia murmured.

 

“Would you fucking stop teasing and just get it on already?” Sean laughed when she pinched him hard for that.

 

Julia spread his legs and trapped them beneath hers, stroking softly over the hard cock and furry balls. With a sudden hard grip her hand circled the balls and squeezed mercilessly. Sean arched up his heels digging into the mattress, but no sound came out of his mouth. Julia slid half from the bed. The soft flesh between the strong thighs drove her crazy and she had to taste it. Keeping her fingers around the sac she bit her way up to the groin leaving marks of ownership in her wake.

 

Sean was panting in harsh breaths. His face was flushed and bright gleam stood in his eyes. He loved being manhandled by her. Every time Julia bit harder his body jerked and Sean whimpered. His legs were trembling and his feet shoved downward instinctually seeking for leverage.

 

Julia was drunk from having him writhing under her, from the smell of arousal and tolerable pain, the choking noises Sean was making. Her smaller body was constantly taunt now and bathed in sweat, as she pushed him almost beyond the point to be able to orgasm. She let Sean go and slid back on the bed, sitting on her heels as she stared between his spread legs, watching him pull at the handcuffs. Sean could take a lot of pain. He could take torture in many forms and preferred a belt or whip to having Julia take him to the verge, and then just pull back. That was one torture he found almost impossible to tolerate, and she had learned that early on in their relationship.

 

She wiped her face on his skin and turned Sean over with a fast move so he was on his side facing the mattress. His limp body trembled all over as she fitted her body along his back pushing his one leg forward so hers could mate to it. Sean moaned as he felt her naked flesh against his and he couldn’t touch her, just feel what she allowed. Sean's head hung low as if he was too weak to do anything. Julia kissed his back as he waited for her to actually make a real move on him. He really wanted a strap; he felt that shaky inside, but Julia wouldn’t do that. Not yet. It cheated the experience, made it commonplace. She’d only agree to that level of violence when he really needed it, because then it was never about sex, and only about punishment and power. He was beyond caring what would happen now. He just needed to get off.

 

 “Give me one damn reason why I shouldn’t just get off on you, and leave you unsatisfied?” Julia whispered in his ear. Sean cussed under his breath. She was very capable of that. Had even done it a few times when she was really, really pissed at him.

 

“Julia…”

 

She quickly moved him back onto his back, and Sean’s eyes closed as a long moan escaped from him as he felt their bodies join. Opening his eyes he looked up at her, and watched as she took his mouth in a long deep kiss.

 

“I’m sorry, Sean. I’m really sorry. I should’ve called.”

 

He heard the handcuffs open and suddenly one of his hands was free while she reattached the other hand back to the headboard. She was giving back some control.

 

Moving his hand down her naked back and up again, his hand went under the curtain of her soft golden hair to hold her head as his mouth found hers again and their bodies moved together in increasing passion. Apology. She had apologized.

 

 

When Sean came to, he was still chained to the bed and still on his back. Julia stood at the window nursing a drink. She turned and gazed at Sean when she noticed that he was awake.

 

"Can I have a drink too?" He rasped.

 

Julia stepped away from the window and left for a moment to return with a beer for him. She was wearing his shirt and her face looked composed and solemn. He grasped the beer with his free hand. Sean looked at the cuffs, at Julia, at the beer and took a swig. Obviously, she wasn’t finished with him yet.

 

"You aren’t going to go weirdo on me? Cut me to pieces later?"

 

"Isn't it a bit too late to worry about that?"

 

"Are you?"

 

"Would you mind?"

 

"Kind of, sure. I like my body intact. A little on the black and blue side, but intact."

 

"Too bad."

 

Julia leaned forward and kissed the soft lips, tasting the bitter tang of the beer. The edge was gone, her hunger stilled. But she loved having him under her tight control. Laughing at herself, she recognized that Sean was too much a master of these games, and no one really controlled him, only as much as he wanted them to believe.

 

She studied his beautiful face, marveling at his desire to endure pain and submission. At this moment the expression on his face made him appear older than Julia knew him to be. She wondered how far she would have been able to go before Sean would have started to protest. Julia sat on the bed her face turned to the window again. She held her wine glass between her hands.

 

"What are you thinking of?" Sean asked.

 

"How much I would like to keep you chained on my bed. All the time. Take you, love you, and keep you as my sex pet." Julia smiled over her shoulder at him. "That would be a beautiful dream."

 

She sighed and picked at the sheets.

 

"If this is your way to say that you'd like to be with me forever - well, I'd like that too."

 

Julia peered at him. "Yeah?"

 

"Yeah!" A broad grin spread over the handsome face.

 

"And you. You’re not just saying this because I’ve got you chained to the bed?"

 

Sean snuggled deeper into the pillows and took another swig of the beer. "I admit it really does make me want to agree to anything, but do I look as if I want to go anywhere?"

 

"No." Julia sighed and looked down into her glass. “But things are never this easy, are they?”

 

“Julia…”

 

Julia ignored him. “We’ll have problems no matter what. If I unchain you and let you go, you’ll demand things of me. Things I can’t give.”

 

“Things you choose not to give.”

 

“That’s not true, and you know it! This isn’t about compromise, Sean. I look at you. Watch you. Every morning I had to see you put on your guns and walk out that door. I know. I accept that this might be the last time I touch you, kiss you...and yet...I let you go.”

 

“I’m a cop. It comes with the territory.”

 

“I know that, and I accept it. But I hate it. It makes me crazy knowing you’re out there doing crazy things, taking unnecessary risks. But I don’t ask you to stop.” Julia shook her head when he started to talk. “I don’t ask you to stop, because that part of you is a large part of why I let you into my life in the first place. It was a part of you, and a part I couldn’t deny or take away.”

 

“What’s this got to do with us?”

 

Julia laughed bitterly. “Everything. And you know it. You know. What I do and how I do it is as much a part of me as being a cop is a part of you. I know you hate it. I know it makes you crazy, insanely possessive and irrational. I know that it’s just a matter of time that you ask me to choose between you and my job. If my job was nothing, just a flash in a pan, then I would just walk away…for you I’d walk away. But it’s more than that. It’s about who I am. who I want to be, and what makes me the woman you first met.”

 

Sean reached over and deposited his now empty bottle. “Julia. I know. I know that I get unreasonable and demanding. I know I let fear and worry drive me to make demands of you that I shouldn’t, but I can’t seem to change that. So what do you want to do? Do you want to end this now?”

 

“No. I just want you to learn. Accept. And understand. I want you to understand that you can’t push me. That in this, you can’t push me. I am who I am and what I am, just as you are. You have to learn to respect that in some way, or we won't make it.”

 

“I can promise to try.”

 

Julia leaned forward and kissed him lazily. Slipping up the bed she aligned her length along his lounging form. She laid her head on his bare chest and made herself comfortable by draping her free arm around his shoulder as far as she could reach. She studied the man in her arms. She had always dreamed of a strong lover who would take care of her in every sense of the word, but one that could let her take care of him as well. Sean was a heavy weight against her, a long leg wedged between hers possessively. She gave him a kiss on his chest where she left a mark and sighed. Closing her eyes she forced herself to relax and sleep.

 

“Careful, Detective. Don’t make me choose. Learn the limits.”

 

Sean used his free hand to card his fingers through her silky loose hair, spreading it out on his chest. He understood perfectly, and he even agreed to some extent. Instinct was a killer. Closing his eyes, he hoped he could learn when to hold on tight, and when to let go before he made a terrible mistake.

 

~~~

 

The detonation timer needed to be hidden. Heating the paraffin to a nice melted liquid, a broad base nitroglycerin and toluene was then added. Pouring the melted wax into an old coffee can, he added a handful of scrap metal and nails. Sinking in the aluminum strips, he connected it to copper alligator clips and wires, and ran the wire to a Westinghouse clock face. Setting the alarm for 4:00 PM, all there was left to do was wait for the paraffin to dry, thus setting the deadly components.

 

Two jobs. He had two jobs, two employers, and one town. Smiling, the man hummed under his breath as he finished up the one job, and started preparations on the next bomb.

 

~~~

 

“So where and who we shaking?” Max asked.

 

Michael just laughed and gave instructions to Club Hell. Alex Whitman was always a treat to visit. Over four months ago he clued the group into their ‘alien’ nature, and after that he suddenly lost his tongue. All of them realized he knew more than he was sharing, but in all matters extraterrestrial Alex remained silent.

 

“He’s not going to talk.”

 

Michael shrugged. “We don’t know that until we ask. This isn’t about us. It’s for Amy and Jim. He might unbend for them.”

 

Max just snorted and made a derogatory remark under his breath. If Alex wouldn’t break his code of silence for Isabel, it was doubtful he’d break for anyone else. Fucking bastard. Max’s jaw flexed under the strain. Alex, the thorn in his side, was sleeping with his sister and keeping secrets.

 

“Whitman will not talk or give us any information. He’d remain silent if you slowly ripped off his fingernails, and the bastard would smile at you while you did it.”

 

“Maxwell, you need to get over your problems with Alex.”

 

Max just shook his head. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a problem with him sleeping with Isabel. Tell me that the fact he knows things we should know, things that could help Maria, doesn’t burn you.”

 

Michael looked out the window. “What he knows can’t help Maria, Max.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“I asked him to help me. He said okay, and when he came back he said he couldn’t find any information that would help Maria and the babies.”

 

“And you believed him?”

 

“No. Maria did.” Max went silent at that. Maria. She had a way of reading people.

 

“That doesn’t mean that…”

 

“Max, they’re friends.” Michael looked at Max. “Over the last four months Alex hasn't talked to us, but he talks to Maria. He told her that what he knows he can’t spill because he has made a promise that he can’t break. Maria said she understood and made him promise if ever he could, that for her child’s sake he would please tell her. They’ve been friends since that time. Even before he finally accepted a seat on the board of the Foundation.”

 

“Does Isabel know?”

 

“Sure. She usually comes to dinner with him. I think their connection bothers her to some extent, but not really.”

 

“He loves her?”

 

“Isabel?”

 

Max swore. “No. Maria. Alex loves Maria, too?”

 

Michael thought about it. How with everyone else, even Isabel to some extent, Alex remained aloof and unapproachable. But not with Maria. With her, he seemed young, boyish and carefree. They made jokes, laughed, and he told Maria the most horrible stories.

 

“Perhaps. Yeah.”

 

Max swore again. “And you’re okay with that?”

 

“Yeah. I think I am.”

 

“Okay, explain that. You hated it when I had a Maria thing. You hate that Jonathan thinks she turns water into liquid gold. Sean doesn’t need to be mentioned. He’d kill for her. Kyle adores her, as does every other man, woman and child that meets her. How can you be okay with this?”

 

“Because it’s just a Maria thing. She wouldn’t be mine if I couldn’t trust her.”

 

“Fine.” Max was silent for a moment. “Then what the hell is your beef with Jonathan?”

 

“That bastard! He comes near her, and…”

 

“Michael! Dammit, what the hell is it?”

 

Michael just shook his head. Looking out the window he didn’t bother to explain how unsettled Jonathan made him. It was like the man wanted something, and Maria was essential to what he wanted. He had looked at everything from all angles, and he couldn’t find the flaw or the problem. Maria’s regard for Jonathan also made him doubt his instincts, because hers were so much more honed to people than his. He was better at places and physical attributes, but not emotional ones. Jonathan wanted the one thing in the world he prized, Maria. And for that alone, Jonathan would always be someone to suspect.

 

“I can’t believe it. I get a lover for longer than a few dates, and all…”

 

Michael winced. “Could you please not call him that?”

 

Max avoided a car and looked at Michael sharply. “What? Lover?”

 

“Yeah. It just sounds so damn gay.”

 

“Figure it out, partner. Two men in a relationship that is sexual. That’s gay.” Max smiled to himself. He said. “So how about 'boyfriend'.” Michael just made a grunt under his breath. “Okay. So what should I call him?”

 

Michael shrugged. “Dead works for me.”

 

“You are a fucking homophobic prick!”

 

“Hey! There is nothing wrong with being a fucking prick! And homophobic? I could care less if Jonathan gets off sucking dick, or anyone for that matter, unless it’s mine. Then I’ll bust their frickin’ head. Man, I can’t believe you’d say that to me. I’ve been nothing but supportive. Who stopped those fag bashers from trashing you in the Men’s can last month? Huh?”

 

Max looked at his partner and smiled. “I love you, man.”

 

“Don’t get all gay on me. I’ll kill you.”

 

“Yeah, heard that before. Usually from you.” Max just smirked. “Still love you.”

 

Michael squirmed in his seat. Uncertain what to say, he just grunted, which made Max laugh even harder as he enjoyed seeing the larger man look uncomfortable. “What’s not to love? Everyone wants to be Michael.”

 

“You are one fucking conceited bastard.” Michael just smiled smugly. What the hell was his point anyway?

 

~~~

 

Alex looked up as they entered the bar. Looking at his watch, he just shrugged. “It’s not the first of the month, so this can’t be shakedown money.”

 

“That’s in two weeks. We’ll be back then for that.” Michael said.

 

Alex shrugged. “Good, show yourself out.” He got up to leave.

 

“Alex…”

 

The tall lean man stopped in the doorway leading down a dark hall. Without turning around, he reached in his pocket and extracted a piece of paper. Holding it up in the air he waited until Michael came to retrieve the paper.

 

“It’s all I could find out so far. In the future, don’t wander into my place as you please. I wouldn’t want to get a reputation as a Cop informant. Shake down Benny the Rat, or Sly. I hear Sly found a crib over on Weekers. The place is a rat hole.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Don’t thank me. It’s hardly anything.” Alex took a drag on his cigarette. “I do it for her, got that?”

 

“Yeah. I got it.” They watched Alex wander away.

 

“You believe him?” Max asked curiously.

 

“Yeah. He wouldn’t lie about it. Alex doesn’t lie. He just refuses to talk.”

 

“I thought we were going to shake him down?”

 

Michael just laughed and gestured for them to leave. “Yeah, well once again, Alex anticipated my request and furnished it without me having to threaten him. He must be tired today. He usually enjoys going one on one with us.”

 

Max just laughed as they left the club. A figure in the shadows watched them, and after they exited the building he slowly followed Alex, finding him in the back room reading a few reports and smoking.

 

“They want to know.”

 

“Did you expect anything else?” Alex put his feet down and reached for a bottle. Pouring himself a drink and one for the other man, he waited until his company was seated.

 

“What did you tell them?”

 

“Nothing.” Alex downed the shot in one gulp. “You should know better than to ask. I gave my word long ago. I won’t break it, not even for them.”

 

“And Isabel?”

 

Alex shook his head. “No. Isabel understands enough not to ask. She knows I’d do anything and everything to make sure she is safe.”

 

“And Maria?”

 

Alex paused. “She’s real sick.”

 

“I know.” The man sat back in the seat. “There is a possibility, but how it will affect her is uncertain.”

 

Alex nodded. “I thought about that. But the baby…” Alex poured another drink. “How can we know the effect on a healthy baby?”

 

“Did you talk to Freddy?”

 

“Yeah. He doesn’t know. All he’ll say is that Maria and her baby are important, maybe more important than the rest. He wouldn’t say how. They’re all watching her. She has many protectors right now.” Alex looked at the lit tip of his cigarette. “One thing he let slip…babies. He said her 'babies' are important. So it’s either twins, or Maria produces some power children.”

 

“Did you ask for more details, or even how he could know?”

 

Alex shrugged. What the hell was the use? His friend of old was harder to pry information from than even his mother’s people.

 

“Closemouthed, huh?”

 

“More than even we are. He’s been my friend since I was a boy. I trusted him with my life even after I knew what he was, but in this…I don’t know.” Alex looked at his cousin. “I trust you.”

 

Eddie stood up and swallowed the last of his drink. “Good. I trust you too, cousin. I’ll keep an eye on Maria. Perhaps you could try to find out what's so special about her and her child.”

 

“What about the Old Man?”

 

Eddie laughed. “Grandfather? He says that she is struggling in the Balance. Whatever the hell that means. He doesn’t think the stones will help her since she is not one of them.”

 

“And any other messages from him for me?”

 

“Yeah.” Eddie smiled and headed for the door. “He said he expects to see you at Sunday dinner. That was seconded by my mother, so don’t disappoint her, okay?” Alex just nodded, but his cousin turned back for a parting shot. “He also said to make sure you can trust Them.”

 

~~~

 

“Maria!”

 

Maria smiled and stopped to talk to the lovely Mrs. Mulhoney. A kindly elderly woman in her seventies, she was like a beloved grandmother. Maria enjoyed watching coddle Michael and call him her 'dear boy'.

 

“How are you today, Mrs. M?”

 

“I’m fine, my dear. I was wondering if you and Michael were going tonight to see young Ezekiel in his school play.”

 

“Absolutely! Did you need a ride?”

 

“If that wouldn’t be too much of a bother?”

 

Maria leaned down and kissed the elderly woman on the cheek. “It would be a pleasure.” Maria smiled when the woman placed her hand on her stomach to feel the twins.

 

“How is the baby?”

 

“Fine. I just went to the doctor yesterday, and they are both doing wonderfully.”

 

“Twins?” Mrs. Mulhoney’s eye sparkled in delight at the thought, and holding Maria’s arm in a firm grasp she went on with humor, “I should have known. That young Michael is a strapping virile man. Of course he wouldn’t just produce one!”

 

“Well, the blame could very well be mine.” The two women laughed together and gossiped as Mrs. Mulhoney led Maria into her home.

 

“You look pale. I made you some special cookies. Now these are not for Michael. I made them special for you full of good things that will make your pregnancy go so much smoother.”

 

Maria laughed and started to bite into one, but she paused. “What exactly are in these? I can’t eat…”

 

“Chocolate, my dear! Pure, unadulterated chocolate with a deep rich flavor. That and some milk and you’ll be putting on weight and being a nice pleasantly plump pregnant woman in the full bloom of health.”

 

Maria moaned softly as the full flavor of the chocolate chip cookies melted into her mouth. “Oh goodness, I couldn’t imagine anything being better than a diet of these!” Maria quickly shoved three more in her mouth, and then looked around when magically there appeared a nice tall glass of ice cold milk. Mrs. Mulhoney smiled approvingly at Maria as she drank the milk and devoured half the plate of cookies.

 

After making arrangements to pick up the elderly woman later in the evening, Maria went off on her real mission.

 

Margo.

 

Margo was a young woman that Sean had found living on the streets and defacing public property with her art. She had run away from home at fifteen, and after living on the streets for a few years, she ran into Sean DeLuca, who brought her home to Maria. Maria took one look at the strange girl who could barely talk, and there was an instant connection. They built her loft to have lots of light so Margo could work late into the day on her painting. In the last few years of living in the lofts, Margo was still a recluse, who rarely spoke, and had a fear of large crowded places.

 

Maria knocked and waited, and after a while, knocked again.

 

“Margo, c’mon! Open up. It’s Maria. I’ve got Mrs. Mulhoney's chocolate cookies, and if you…”

 

The door suddenly opened and Maria looked around as she entered, shutting the door behind her. The room was dark, except for the artist's studio on the upper loft which was open and airy, with windows and skylights. Maria looked at the twenty-two year old woman, and frowned at her state. She was a mess. Her hair was unwashed and uncombed, and she was wearing cutoff sweats covered in paint, and an old sweatshirt that said Roswell PD. Sean’s. He had given it to her so long ago it was holey and worn, and also covered in paint.

 

“Hey, you.”

 

Margo just nodded, and went upstairs to resume cleaning her paintbrushes. Maria went into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses of milk and went up into the loft area. Stopping at the front of the stairs, she stared at the picture on the easel.

 

“It’s Zeke.” Whistling under her breath, she slowly entered the room and circled the painting from all sides.

 

There was a darkness to the painting, a foreboding hush that echoed with a lightness around the figure. Ezekiel, the prophet, a messenger in  full body armor standing in a river of blood, holding the banner of his office as the blood slowly seeped at his feet.

 

“Call now, the dogs of war. Herald the trumpets of time, for they sit, like mastiffs,  four beasts to the howling of winds,” Maria said softly, not taking her eyes from the picture.

 

Margo stopped her cleaning to look at Maria. Her hands fidgeted as if she wanted to stroke the paint, touch it. See if it really could breathe.

 

“Margo, this is…my god! This is the finest work you’ve ever done!” Maria sat down and passed Margo the cookies. “You want me to see if Linda can sell it?”

 

Margo shook her head no, but sat next to Maria on the floor, hugging her legs and munching on a cookie as she stared at the painting. Maria pretended to flick a crumb from her clothing, but she was busy waiting for Margo to decide.

 

“Zeke.” Margo said quietly.

 

“You painted it for Zeke?”

 

Margo nodded.

 

Maria continued to look at the painting and became thoughtful. “Because you’re not coming to his play tonight?”

 

Margo nodded again and got up to continue cleaning her supplies.

 

“I see.” Maria stared at the painting for a few moments. “He’ll love it, I’m sure. How could he not?”

 

Margo stopped her cleaning to look at the painting again for a moment.

 

“He would, of course, be even happier if you came, but I’m sure he’ll understand that you can’t…that you couldn’t, not even for him.” Maria picked up another cookie and thoughtfully munched on it. “Of course Michael, Mrs. Mulhoney, and I will be there, so I’m sure that will be enough support him. It’ll have to be.” Maria snuck a glance at the younger woman. “It’s just that, because Zeke never had any family, except for Hank, who abused him, he really lacks self confidence. I think it was harder for him since so many of the kids he goes to school with know his circumstances, and he always feels…I don’t know...less than them?”

 

“Maria…” Margo whispered, the pain in her voice.

 

“He was just so excited, because all of us there supporting him would prove to them, the other kids, that he’s loved and has family. I’m sure both Liz and Izzy are coming too.”

 

“I can’t…people, and…”

 

“I know, there will be people there, but you’d be with us.” Maria got up. “Well, of course it is much safer here for you, and you should stay where you can handle it, because life goes on. It could pass a person by without them realizing it.”

 

Margo continued to stare at the painting, biting her lip.

 

“I’m sure Zeke will get over his disappointment. He’s survived worse so disappointment he knows, and the painting will compensate nicely.”

 

Maria went to leave.

 

“I’ll go,” Margo said quietly.

 

Maria just nodded. “If you could pick up Mrs. Mulhoney and bring her to the loft before seven, that would be great!”

 

Margo just nodded, slightly miffed over how she always let Maria have her way. Every time, she told herself that it would be different, and every time it was the same.

 

~~~

 

Maria was humming to herself when she let herself back into the loft. Michael was home. He was sitting at the kitchen bar with Mr. Boo lurking under the counter. Michael had several takeout bags in front of him and Mr. Boo was hoping for spillage. Maria’s eyes took on a feral gleam looking at the scene, and Michael quickly gulped. Uh oh.

 

“Let me eat first, Maria.”

 

“Depends. What did you bring, and is any of it for me?”

 

Michael pushed a bag towards her to distract her from him for a little longer. He really needed to get a few thousand calories down before she jumped him. Smiling to himself, he tried to remember the last time he was worried about too much sex, compared with not enough.

 

“Fried pickles from the Grease Pit! Yum. Where's the ketchup and Tabasco?”

 

Michael watched as Maria quickly devoured two bags of take out, but he frowned when he noticed how much Tabasco she was using.

 

“When did you start dousing your food in the fire sauce?”

 

“For a while, why?”

 

“Not like this you didn’t. A little here, a little there, but dammit, Professor, you’re practically drinking straight from the bottle.”

 

“The babies like it.” Maria reached over and kissed him, sitting back and patting her stomach smugly. “Don’t worry, papa. We’re doing fine.”

 

Michael watched her, and licking his mouth which still burnt a little from the Tabasco in hers, he thought he tasted something else. A lingering taste of...chocolate.

 

“Where are they?”