A
Michael and Max were in the tree lot trying to find a tree
for Isabel.
“Come on, Maxwell. Just pick a tree. It's freezing out
here.”
“It's not so simple. This tree's got to fall within
certain parameters.”
“Parameters?”
Max nodded looking at a piece of paper. “Height,
circumference, color, density of foliage.” Max showed Michael the paper Isabel
gave him. “Look at this diagram. You know how Isabel gets this time of
year.”
“The Christmas Nazi, driving everyone insane while trying
to have the perfect Christmas.” Michael made a face. “The worst thing you
can do is play into it, Max. You've gotta fight her. You've gotta fight the
Christmas Nazi.” Michael frowned at his watch. “Come on. I have to get to
the hardware store before it closes. I have to get Maria her present.”
“Why? Are you gonna get her a ratchet set?”
“Never mind.” Michael shook his head. The damn store
would be closed by the time they got there. He should never have agreed to go
shopping with Max. “I'm under a lot of pressure. Maria is like this little
Christmas genie. She seems to just know the perfect present to get everybody. I
want my present to wow her, be better than she could’ve imagined for
herself.”
“You two have a bet going don’t you?” Michael made a
face. Now how did Max figure that out? “Then you might want to steer clear of
the hardware store,” Max suggested.
Michael and Max looked up when they heard squealing tires
as a car veered sharply on the road as it hit an icy patch. It started heading
towards a little girl. Her father saw the car coming and pushed her out of the
way as the car hit him. He flew through the air a few feet coming down hard.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Max watched helplessly as the small girl screamed for her
father. Michael glanced at Max seeing the struggling emotions on his face.
“Maxwell...” They could hear the other bystanders
talking about the man. He wasn’t breathing. “Let’s go.” Michael dragged
Max away before he decided to try to heal the man in front of the crowd. It was
a tragedy that the man died saving his daughter’s life, but Michael was sure
the man would want it that way.
~~~
At the Evans breakfast table Diane Evans was reading the
morning paper lamenting over the tragic loss the previous day.
“Oh, this poor, poor family.” Diane said.
“Tragic.” Philip agreed.
“I mean, this man gave his life to save his daughter.
Now, that's a true hero.”
Philip looked around and asked his son, “Where's the
Christmas Nazi?”
“Last I saw, she was examining our outdoor lights for
errant bulbs.” Speaking of the devil, Isabel came into the house, dragging the
tree that Max got.
“Max. This is, by far, the most pathetic Christmas tree I
have ever seen.” Isabel literally shook the tree at him. “Did you even refer
to my diagram?”
“I had to run out this morning. There were only a few
left.”
“You know, I give you one tiny, little assignment, and
you can't even handle that!”
“Something came up.”
“Well, if you had told me you couldn't go, I would have
squeezed in time to get it myself between the hunger drive and Christmas dinner
at the nursing home.” Isabel informed him piously as Max rolled his eyes.
“Isabel,” Diane said to her daughter, “did you know
that this family lived only four blocks from here?”
“It's so terrible. A few of us are talking about
organizing a vigil for his family.”
“Beautiful. A vigil?” Philip smiled at his daughter’s
charitable thought. “You know, that's nice. Candles. Yeah.” Philip tried to
keep his daughter occupied and away from her usual Christmas obsession.
“You know, I think I saw at least seventeen burnouts on
two and five.” Isabel said not easily swayed from her assigned task. “Oh,
what do you want to bet there are some flickering ones on three and four,
because they always seem to have problems, so check those, too, you know? You
should never be careful because once two and three are gone and …”
Max blocked out Isabel as she droned on and on. He looked
into the laundry room and saw the image of the man who died saving his daughter.
He was sitting on the washing machine. It reminded him of seeing Liz in
Isabel glanced over at her brother and his strange actions,
not seeing the ghost only Max could see. “Max.” She shrugged at her parents.
“Great. He's doing laundry now.” Isabel went back to her notes. “Dad, is
there a reason you haven't finished hanging the rest of the outdoor Christmas
lights?”
“I'm sorry.” Max told the man.
The ghost stared into his eyes intensely, “How could you
let me die?”
~~~
Michael rang the order bell to draw his prey near. Oh.
Maria. Not any Maria, but a demented Maria in a Christmas Santa hat, hyped up on
Christmas cheer.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Spaceboy, you big teddy bear, I talk to you every day.
Whassup?”
“We got three days ‘til Christmas, and I'm working
every day until then.”
“So am I. And?”
“I was wondering if it was necessary to exchange presents
on Christmas Day.”
“Need a little wiggle room?”
“If that would be all right,” Michael was relieved.
Shopping for Maria was hard, and Amy was harder. He was strapped for time. “I
mean, what's a couple days? You know, I figure we can make a date for the 27th
or 28th.”
“Sure. No problem.” Maria shrugged, smiling to herself.
“That means I win.”
“No!” Michael held out a hand. “No. If we agree to
have Christmas a few days later, then the presents count when they count, and
…”
Maria shrugged. “You’re probably right. After all, my
mom probably won’t be here or anything. She usually finds someplace to be
during Christmas. I might as well spend it alone. No big, right? It’s just a
day, another day. Thousands of people spend it all alone every year, so …
yeah, I probably should just get used to it. I mean, what is Christmas but some
arbitrary day? What is it again? Oh, yes. The birthday of our Lord and Savior.
It's no big deal.” Maria walked off, and Michael gave a deep sigh.
“That went better than I expected.” Michael under his
breath. Dammit, he couldn’t get her present done in time, and the other one
was taking too much effort. He wasn’t going to make it. “Couldn’t Jesus
have been born on the 31st or something?”
~~~
Maria entered the
“Hello? Brody?”
“Maria. Hi.” Brody said distractedly.
“Hi, yourself.” Maria sat the sandwich down.
“What’s up? You look more down than I feel.”
“Maria. I'm sorry. This just really isn't a good time.”
“Oh.” Maria looked at the older man. He was slightly
pale and his usual smiling eyes were bleak. “Okay.”
“Listen. I'm gonna be away for a couple of days. Uh, you
don't need to bring my lunch.”
“Fine.” Maria put a hand on his arm. “Is … is
everything all right?” Maria remembered when he came back from
“Yeah, fine.” His eyes belied his reassurance.
“Yeah.” Maria recognized that he didn’t want to talk
about it, so she backed off. “Of course. Merry Christmas.” Maria left the
sandwich forgetting to collect the money.
Brody put his hand on the bag. He watched her go. “Yeah.
Merry Christmas.”
~~~
When Tess entered the house from shopping she found the two
Valenti’s deep into a football game.
She sat down on a foot rest in front of the TV. Sheriff
Valenti and Kyle continued to watch the football game by peering around her.
Tess was undaunted. Telling them about her horrible shopping experience, how the
world of
“But, clearly, you guys don't bother with Christmas
trees.” Tess remarked.
“We've got ours out in the garage.” Kyle told Tess,
still trying to watch the game. “Plastic.”
“Oh. Oh, well, I guess there's … no hurry to bring it
into the house then.”
“Well, actually, we haven't brought it in for a few
years.” Jim admitted wincing at a fumbled play.
“We like it in the garage.” Kyle added. “I use it to
dry my socks.”
“Good. Second down. Second down, here we go. Come on.
Come on. Visualize.” Jim muttered as a play was converted, not really
listening to Tess.
“Oh, and about Christmas dinner. I hope you guys aren't
planning some big …”
Kyle shook his head. “We usually hit the Crashdown for
turkey.”
“$7.95 - all you can eat.” Jim added.
“Great.” Tess said severely disappointed. “You know,
I don't celebrate Christmas anyway.”
“Great.” Jim said not really hearing or understanding a
word the young alien girl said. “Oh, yes!” He said excited as the ball was
snapped.
“Yes. Yes!” Kyle joined him both of them standing.
“Yes! Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Whoo!” Kyle high five’d his father over the
touchdown. Jim laughed with his son, neither of them noticing Tess quietly
leaving.
~~~
“So your problem is that you have a gift in mind, but you
don’t think you can get either it done by the 25th, so you need a
stand in present?”
“Right.” Michael looked through items on the shelf. He
held up an item.
“This is a toothbrush.”
“It's an electric
toothbrush.” Michael pointed out. “It's practical.”
“It is practical. Are you gonna give it to Maria as a
stocking stuffer?”
“No. The rules say the other person would want or need,
but never imagine getting for themselves. There is a price limit too, since
Maria knows how limited my funds are.”
“Actually I think Maria would find it in her heart to
forgive you for exceeding the price limit, though there would be hell to pay if
you gave the girl you love an electric toothbrush for Christmas. You're better
off getting her no gift at all.” Isabel looked around the hardware store.
“Have you thought of maybe shopping somewhere else?”
“Why? This is my favorite store.” Michael didn’t get
Isabel. What, she wanted him to go to the mall? Geez, not during the most
commercial holiday of the year! “No. I need something great. I had a thought,
and it would work if I had the time. It’s what I really what to give her, but
I’m having a hard time with the logistics.” Michael searched the shelves
again. Okay, so the toothbrush was out. Maria had a tooth brushing fetish. She
would buy a toothbrush for herself.
“Last year what did you get her?”
“Hey, I don't even believe in this, so why should I get
sucked into it? So I bought her something unique.” Michael smiled. “Matching
tattoos with each other’s name done in Chinese letters.”
“A tattoo? You and Maria have matching tattoos?” Isabel
was actually taken aback. That was so … romantic. “Maria didn’t have a
problem with the present.”
“No, she thought it was cool So, what should I get
her?”
“Okay, look. Go home. Think about all that you and Maria
have shared, all that she means to you. Then start coming up with some ideas,
okay? A Christmas gift should be personal, thoughtful, and something someone
would never get herself. That should stick to your rules … whatever they’re
for.” Isabel looked at her watch. “Now I've gotta go, 'cause I've got a
rehearsal for the holiday pageant, dinner at the nursing home. I've gotta wrap a
ton of presents, and now I've got to get a new tree.”
“Hail the Christmas Nazi.” Michael said under his
breath.
“What was that?” Isabel’s eyes glared dangerously.
“Nothing.”
“Bye now.”
Michael watched her go. He looked at all the things on the
shelves. Junk. Junk. Junk. None of them compared to what he really wanted to
give Maria, but chances of achieving his goal was next to impossible. Michael
left the store, and applied the suggestions Isabel gave him to an alternative
present. Stopping outside Amy DeLuca’s shop, Michael paused a moment before
going inside. He wasn’t giving up. No way in hell was he going to lose this
bet.
~~~
Maria was with a Christmas caroling group visiting
peoples’ homes with special needs. In a hope to forestall her usual holiday
blues, she exerted herself to push away thoughts crowding her brain to
concentrate on bringing cheer to those who needed it.
They were caroling to the wife and children of the man who
was killed in the car accident earlier. Max watched the house and the carolers
as they sung ‘Jingle Bells’ when the ghost of the dead man confronted him.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I just want to make sure they're all right.” Max told
the ghost.
“They're not all right.”
“If I had exposed myself last night, there are people I
would have put at risk.” Max told the man, excusing himself for not saving the
man.
“But it was okay for you to heal Liz Parker.”
Max paused as the remark hit home. “How do you know about
that?”
“Because I know everything in your mind, heart, and soul,
Max. I know it all.”
“I will look after your children. I swear I will.”
The man looked at his wife and children, lost without him.
“For how long, Max?”
“Until they're okay.”
“They will never be okay, Max.” The man told him.
“Don't you understand that? They lost their father last night.”
Max stared at the woman and her children for a moment
longer. He needed to talk. Isabel was impossible, and Max knew that Maria was
unavailable. She and the carolers were heading to a house with a child with
cancer. Liz. She had wanted them to remain friends. Leaving, he went to Liz’s
rooftop to talk to her.
Liz listened as Max explained what happened, how he
didn’t save the man when he could’ve. Liz listened and saw the parallel
between her life and that of the dead man’s. Max reached out a hand to save
her, but not the other.
“If you healed him, you would have exposed Michael,
Isabel, and Tess.” Liz reminded him. He had done it once, and it cost them so
much over the past year and a half.
Max glanced over as the ghost appeared reminding him that,
though Liz was right, that wasn’t the real reason he hadn’t saved him.
“I wasn't thinking about Michael and Isabel and Tess. I
was thinking about myself in the white room and being tortured.” Max glanced
at Liz, afraid she wouldn’t understand … or more afraid she would. “I
didn't heal that man, because I was protecting myself. Why couldn't I trade my
life for his?”
“No, Max, look... You can't do that to yourself.” Liz
said Max shaking his head as the ghost wandered around the roof singing
‘Amazing Grace.’ Liz didn’t make the connection. Would he save her today,
after the white room … would he trade his life for hers given what he knew
about her and Kyle?
“He's haunting me, Liz.”
“What do you mean?”
“He comes to me.” Max explained, the guilt like a
craziness in his eyes. “I see him.”
“You mean you literally see him?”
“I have to do something.” The ghost stopped singing and
Max watched him as he fell off of the roof. Max rushed over to the edge and
reached out to try to grab him.
“Max! Max.” Liz rushed over to Max’s side confused by
his actions. “Max, what are you talking about?”
“I don't know.” The ghost re-appeared.
“Can't get rid of me that easily. I got no place to
go.” The ghost informed him. “You need to restore the balance, Max.”
“Max.” Liz was becoming more than a little concerned.
“I need to restore the balance.”
~~~
Outside the house of a five-year-old girl with cancer,
Maria and the carolers were singing ‘Deck the Halls’ when the door opened
and a beautiful child came outside to listen.
“Daddy, come here!”
Maria tossed over thoughts of Brody and his daughter,
waiting to the next day to return to Brody’s house. She wandered around
looking for him wanting to talk to him about his daughter.
“Maria!” Brody called to her, surprised to see her
again.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Um, I don't know.” Maria laughed at herself. She was
sticking her nose into his private business and she didn’t even know if he
wanted that. “I'm just … I'm just here.”
“You're wondering about
“Yeah.”
Brody’s eyes moved over Maria’s beautiful face.
“She's my daughter.” Until that moment, he never really thought of how much
older he was than Maria just in life experiences.
“She's very beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Brody smiled thinking of his small child,
and the young girl standing in front of him. She was equally exquisite. “She's
staying with me for a few days, you know, for Christmas.”
“Oh.” Maria cleared her throat. “She has, uh …”
“Cancer.” Helping Maria out, Brody quickly said the
hard word. “Yeah. It's in her bone marrow. Inoperable.”
“I'm sorry.”
“I know you and I talk a lot and that I've never
mentioned her. I just don't … it's hard, you know, to talk about it.”
“I was worried about you.” Maria confessed. “If
there's anything I can do, anything at all …”
“Thank you. You did enough last night. You have a
beautiful voice.” Maria and Brody both looked over when
“Daddy, I can't get my crown to fit right.” The small
girl noticed Maria. “Who are you?”
Maria went down to the small girl’s level. “I'm Maria.
You must be
“Yeah.” She smiled a big smile showing a missing tooth.
Maria was charmed by the small girl. She plucked the front
of the pretty gown the little girl was wearing. “Now, is, um ... is that a
Christmas present you're wearing?”
“
“You look like a fairytale princess.” Maria told the
young child. Brody’s eyes met hers in gratitude.
~~~
When Isabel stopped by Michael’s apartment she stopped to
stare at his project. Placing an armful of presents down on a table she gazed at
the piece of scrap metal in shock.
“It's a bumper.” Michael
explained to her.
“Yes, I see that.”
“For a Jetta.” Michael clarified.
“Hmmm. How did what I said yesterday result in this?”
“It meets all your criteria. It's personal, because I
personally know what a bug she has up her ass about how much we’ve screwed up
her car. It's thoughtful, because I had to go to the junkyard and get it, and
it's something she would never get herself for the obvious reason that her
bumper's been hanging from a string for the past half-year.”
“Oooookay, Michael. Lucky for you, I didn’t trust that
you could do this alone, so I scratched the Christmas dog show off my schedule
and I rectified the situation. I added Maria to my shopping list.” Isabel
waved a wrapped present at Michael placing it on the table with the other
presents she had left there earlier.
“No. I know what I wanted to give her, but realistically,
I don’t think I can pull it off. This is a good backup. Maria will get this
for what it is. Trust me. I'm not
gonna get obsessed over this present. This is fine. I'm not gonna make everyone
else around me miserable.”
“What are you saying?” Isabel demanded. “That I get
obsessed and make everyone around me miserable?”
“I didn't say that.”
“You know, is it too much to ask that one day a year, I
can be like a normal human being with a normal life and have a
merry Christmas?!?”
“No, mein Fuehrer.” Michael said under his breath.
Isabel turned around sharply giving Michael an evil look.
“What?”
Michael feigned innocence. “What?”
Isabel started to leave again, but then stopped when she
noticed the presents she had put down. “Oh. I’m leaving the present for
Maria in case you change your mind and decide to give her a real present. A
decent one. Is it all right if I leave some gifts here as well? I have more
shopping to do.”
“Leave them on the table.” Michael answered, willing to
do anything to get rid of her.
“Bye-bye then.”
Michael gave a sigh of relief when the door shut behind the
alien girl.
~~~
At the supermarket Jim, Kyle, and Tess were buying
groceries. The Valenti boys were in top form searching for the perfect Christmas
dinner.
“Whoo. Meaty Man, in case the game runs late on Sunday,
and we don't make it to the Crashdown.” He told the two teenagers showing them
the frozen turkey dinners. “Go long, go long, go long.” He told Kyle tossing
the TV dinners at him.
Amy DeLuca came around the corner almost running into Jim.
“Oh, my God. Jim!”
“Amy De Luca.” Jim actually turned slightly pink.
“Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” Amy remembered herself looking over
at Kyle. “Oh, Merry Christmas, Kyle.”
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. De Luca.”
Amy noticed the petite blonde girl. “Oh, my God. This
must be the famous Tess.” Amy smiled at the girl. “My daughter Maria has
told me so much about you.” Amy didn’t add that some of it was bad, but
Maria at times seemed to genuinely like the girl, and at other times … not so
much. It was confusing. Tess was like Maria’s PMS. Twenty-eight days of the
month she seemed okay with the girl, then for the rest she was on a tear.
“Oh, I deny everything.” Tess knew that she wasn’t
Maria’s favorite person.
“Oh, well, this is a true Christmas story, Jim, making a
home for this lovely young girl.”
Jim blushed, liking the admiration he saw in Amy’s eyes.
“Oh, it's nothing, really.”
“Oh, no. Come on. This is what Christmas is all about,
you know? Opening your heart and creating new family.”
“It's just a temporary thing.” Jim said not wanting to
appear immodest.
“Oh, never you mind.” Amy said waving off Jim’s
modesty. “Come on. This must be a very special year for all of you. You have a
new member of your family.”
“Yep. Very special.”
“Yeah. I bet.” Amy said sighing. “I love this time of
year, but it is really hard for my business. I’m literally am run off my feet
from Thanksgiving until after the New Year, hardly getting to spend more than a
handful of days at home. My delivery schedules are too far apart. Poor Maria, I
don’t think we spent a single Christmas Day together in the last … I don’t
know.” Amy confessed laughing self consciously. “Not since I started my
business. This year I was hoping it would be different. I have a special Santa
helper trying to make it happen, but it’s not looking good. God, Maria already
volunteered to work at the Crashdown because she doesn’t expect me to be
here.”
“It’s hard being a single parent.” Jim observed,
respecting how hard Amy had to work to keep her family together.
“Well, it’s all about family, especially around this
time of year.” Amy smiled at Jim. “As you know.” Jim laughed
self-consciously as Tess watched in interest.
Amy reached over and picked up a few boxes of ornaments.
“Well, our tree is overflowing already, but, you know, I always say that you
can never have too many Christmas ornaments, right?”
Tess saw an opportunity. She reached over and added some
Christmas ornaments to the shopping cart. “Right. You know, that's what we
say.” Tess said smiling sweetly at Amy in agreement.
“Right.” Amy was running out of conversation. “Well,
remember, Jim, if you ever want to stop by, there'll always be a DeLuca
Christmas pie waiting.”
“Thanks, Amy.” Jim said smiling his large beautiful
smile for the woman.
Amy blushed, not noticing Tess watching her thoughtfully.
“Uh, thank you. Okay. Um, bye.” Amy hurried off before she disgraced
herself.
~~~
Maria and Liz sat watching the Pageant that Isabel had
organized, the one that
“Oh, my God.” Liz said staring at the small child, so
innocent and young.
“I've been crying all day.” Maria told her, her eyes
filling with more tears as she searched for a tissue.
“Oh, Maria.” Liz held Maria’s hand squeezing.
“Liz, I've made up my mind. I'm gonna be there for Brody
and Sydney.”
“Yes, definitely,” Liz agreed keeping Maria’s hand in
hers. “You know, we could go put together a care package from the Crashdown.
So they don't have to worry about making food.”
“No. No. I mean, I'm gonna be with them.”
Liz glanced at Maria with a dawning fear. “What are you
talking about?”
“Brody is such a good man. He really is. And
“Oh, no, Maria. Slow down.” Liz’s mouth opened in
shock.
“I can't take it anymore, Liz. I know I’m a coward at
times, and that Madam Vivian had me running in circles, but she was right …
he’s a man, he has a confused past, and he looks to the stars for answers
…” Maria took a deep breath. “I’ve been hoping to ignore him and he
would go away or wait until I was ready, but it's just so sad. I have to do
something.”
Liz had no clue what Maria was talking about, but the part
she got was inconceivable. “Maria, you're seventeen. You're in high school.
Brody is not.” Liz tightened her hand on Maria’s. “Have you told Michael?
Have you talked to him about this?”
“I haven’t had a chance. He’s nowhere to be found
lately. I don’t get it. School’s out, and he is like gone … all the time.
I was going to talk to him about Brody, but since I planned to ignore it …”
Maria stared at
“Maria, you can't just step in and become someone's
mother … and what? All of a sudden, you're just gonna be with Brody?” Liz
could unravel Maria convoluted thinking. “Did Brody say something to you? Did
you talk to him about this? I mean, what is making you think this?”
“He said he liked my voice.” Maria confessed. What if
he wasn’t the one? What if Madam Vivian was wrong, and she was letting her
emotions rule her head, send her into the wrong pair of arms? “Oh, my God.
What am I thinking? I'm gonna marry Brody? I mean, I'm crazy.”
“No, you're not crazy. It’s … it's just killing you
not to do something about this, because you’re such a good person.” Liz
hugged Maria close. “But I think the best thing you could do is just … leave
them alone. Their time is precious right now. You should let them have their
time together.”
“I mean, it's so wrong.” Maria told Liz, glancing at
her as she started to cry again. “It's Christmas. Christmas is supposed to
have happy endings and miracles. Family, being together, and nothing should be
more important than that. Nothing.”
Liz sat up straighter at Maria’s words as she searched
the crowd for Max. He wanted to restore the balance. Isabel was introducing the
pageant as Liz searched for Max.
Liz squeezed Maria’s hand, leaving her to sadly watch
“Looks like we have a plan,” the ghost said, watching
the sick child perform.
~~~
The four aliens met at Michael's apartment as Max discussed
his plan with Tess, Isabel, and Michael, hoping to get their approval.
“You heal her, and you leave behind a silver handprint, a
nice, big fat clue saying there're aliens in
“Look. Nasedo destroyed all the records from the Special
Unit.” Max reminded Michael. “It's possible no one even knows who we are or
what the silver handprint is.”
Michael was hammering away on the bumper. He had a place to
be soon, and he was trying to get the bumper done.
“Look, I know what I'm asking here is big. There are a
million reasons not to do this and only one reason to do it.” Max appealed to Isabel and Tess. “I need to. I don't
know what else to say.”
Michael took out his frustration on the bumper as he
continued to bang on it.
Isabel glanced at Michael in irritation trying to
concentrate. “What we've been through this past year, it's taken a lot away
from us. I think maybe that sort of thing starts to take its toll, you know, on
our human side … so if you feel you need to do this, then I'm behind you,
Max.”
Isabel knew what finding out about Vilandra took from her.
She could understand how Max might need to find some type of redemption. He
refused to participate with the peace pact at the
“Thank you.”
“Look.” Tess told Max, always first on his side. “If
this means so much to you, I'm sure there's a good reason for it, so I'm with
you, too.”
Michael banged even harder on the bumper. “I guess that
makes me the odd man out.”
“Michael.” Max hated to once again disappoint Michael.
It wasn’t about him against Michael.
“Hey, we're here for a reason, Max. So call me a selfish
jerk, but I don't think we should risk everything just so you can feel a little
bit better about yourself at Christmas.” Not that it mattered. They had a way
home, but Max made the decision without them at the
“Michael.”
“You made your decision before you walked through that
door. I know you did.” Michael told Max stopping his banging for a moment. He
had better things to do … more important ones. “I could hear it in your
voice, so why don't you just go do what you're gonna do … and make sure you
don't screw up.” Michael went back to banging on the bumper ignoring the rest
until they took the hint and left his apartment.
Michael stared at the bumper. It would be so much easier to
use his powers to finish it on time. He was pushed. He had to go work on his
other project. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself. He wanted to do it
with his own hand. Maria appreciated that the most. Picking up the hammer, he
went back to banging on the metal his mind somewhere else.
~~~
At the Valenti home Tess was finishing up on setting the
table. Jim and Kyle were watching yet another show on the TV, their standard
source of entertainment.
“Okay. I think we're just about ready.” She told the
men. “Oh, Kyle, could you grab two more dining room chairs? I looked in the
garage, but I couldn't find any.”
“Oh, that's 'cause there aren't any.” Kyle told her.
“Uh, what do you mean?”
Kyle made a face at her, he thought what he said was pretty
apparent. “Uh, we don't have any other chairs.”
“All we have are two chairs? Um, doesn't that seem a
little odd to you?” Tess pointed out.
Jim glanced at the alien girl. “Well, we used to have
more chairs, but over the years, our collection has dwindled.”
“So it doesn't bother you that there are only two chairs
in the entire house?”
“We usually eat in front of the TV.” Jim pointed out.
“He's never gonna pick up this spare.” Kyle commented
on the bowling game they were watching. “Come on, look within, you putz.”
“Guy's amazing.” Jim commenting turning his attention
back to the TV and Kyle.
Tess couldn’t believe them. “I have been cooking for
twenty hours, while you two have been sitting back on the couch like two beached
whales, not even noticing or caring that I am living here. Okay? I am here! Hello. Hellooooo?” Tess’s
voice rose in anger. “So, since I'm living here, I should have a damn chair to
sit in!” She screamed at the two
Valenti’s leaving them in stunned silence for at least 30 seconds, which
seemed like hours.
“We could bring my desk chair over.” Jim finally
suggested in a meek voice.
“Good idea.” Kyle agreed quickly, not wanting to make
the powerful alien girl mad at him.
“Oh, and, uh, where's Amy De Luca going to sit?” Tess
asked sweetly.
“Amy DeLuca?” Jim sat up at Amy’s name. “Why does
Amy DeLuca need a place to sit?”
“Because … I invited her over to dinner.”
Jim was on his feet in horror. “You what?”
“Well, I figured if we had a guest, you two would have to
shut off the damn TV and pretend to be civilized!”
Jim looked around the house, the disorder … the train
wreck. “When is she coming?” he asked as the doorbell rang at the same
moment.
“Uh..., about now, actually.”
“Oh, my God. No, no, no, no. Shh ... ooh, no!” Jim said
running around picking up part of the mess he and Kyle made constantly. “Come
on, now. Don't do this to me. Come on. Help me out, will you?” He said to
Kyle. Jim pointed a finger at Tess. “Don't ever invite somebody over to dinner
without telling me first.” The doorbell rang again. “Ah! Jeez Louise. Oh!
Jeez.”
Jim quickly cleaned up a bit as best he could. He threw the
bag of chips into the kitchen as he tucked in his shirt. Kyle was busy sweeping
away the chips on the coffee table. Taking a deep sigh, Jim opened the door to a
waiting Amy.
“Amy.”
“Hi, Jim.” Amy smiled at Kyle and Tess. “Hi,
everyone. It was so nice of you to think of me, Jim, and I loved your note.”
“My note …” Jim glanced at Tess.
“I miss you, too.”
~~~
Max used his power to unlock the door to Brody’s house
and slip inside. The house was empty, except for the ghost standing beside the
Christmas tree.
“It's too late, Max. They rushed her to the hospital.
Boy, do you have a dilemma.”
Max left the house, rushing over to Michael’s apartment.
He got there just as Michael returned in the Jetta. Max frowned at Michael
driving Maria’s car, but he didn’t bother to ask. He had other things more
pressing.
“She had a relapse. She's in the hospital in
“And?” Michael asked, already knowing what Max would
say.
“I'm going. It may be a little more dangerous now. I just
thought you should know.”
Michael made a face. He was never going to get Maria’s
gift finished. “I'm going with you. I just want to keep you from getting us
all killed.”
~~~
“Are you sure you don't need any help?” Amy asked Tess
from where she was sitting at the dining room table with Jim.
“No, I'm fine.” Tess tried to help to get the ball
rolling. “So how long have you and the Sheriff known each other?”
“Oh, a long time.” Jim said smiling at Amy.
“A long, long time.” Amy confirmed laughing. “He knew
me before I was legal, right, Jim?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Really?” Tess picked up what appeared to be a private
joke between the two.
“Well, actually, we always sort of knew each other, but
the first time we actually met, he almost ran me over with his dirt bike.”
“Well, what the hell were you and Curt Pressman doing
lying out there on that mesa …” Jim started.
Amy quickly intervened before Jim could go into too much
detail. “That is neither the point nor proper dinner conversation,” she said
smiling at Tess. “Of course, the second time I met him, he arrested me.”
“Really? You arrested her?” Tess was fascinated. She
set another dish on the table.
Kyle who had been listening looked at the dish. “Is that
three-cheese potato gratin?”
“With bacon on the bottom. Your favorite.” Tess went
back into the kitchen and Kyle stared at her a moment. He listened to his dad
and Amy reminisce for a moment about the third time Jim rescued her, but then
left them to talk following Tess into the kitchen to help.
“Don't exaggerate. You didn't need to be rescued.” Jim
told her.
“Of course I did.” Amy batted her eyes at him, flirting
outrageously. “The attic was engulfed in flames …”
Kyle laughed at the older couple, asking Tess if she needed
help. “So you need me to carve that?” He asked staring at a really nice
turkey.
“I got it. Thanks.” Tess passed her hand over the
turkey and it was immediately sliced to perfection.
“Well, so this … this is really, uh … this is really
great.” Kyle told the girl, genuinely touched by her efforts.
“Well, I saw a break in the NFL schedule between the 22nd
and 24th of December, so I figured …”
“Right. Well, this is the best Christmas dinner we've had
in a long time.” Kyle admitted shyly. “I mean, two guys living alone. We
just never really had the Christmas spirit.”
Jim and Amy were laughing in the other room. “Well, it,
uh, looks like he's got the spirit now.” Tess commented picking up the turkey.
“That's a really great gift that you gave him … to both
of us, I mean.”
“This is a great gift to me, too.” Tess confessed.
Nasedo hadn’t been into human holidays, or even alien ones for that matter.
She carried the turkey into the other room as Amy was confessing to Jim how
great it was to be home that year for the holidays.
“I mean, normally I would be on the road right now, late,
wondering how I was going to meet all the end of the year orders.” Amy told
Jim. “This year, I had special help, and if not for that, I wouldn’t be here
today. I’m going to actually spend Christmas with my daughter, and that is
something I haven’t done in years. I haven’t even told Maria because I’m
afraid to jinx myself, or something will happen and I’ll have to disappoint
her.”
“Well then we should celebrate your good fortune.”
“We should. I wish Maria could’ve come, but she got
talked into a whole slew of Christmas charities by Isabel.” Jim and Amy turned
when Tess entered the room triumphantly with the turkey, their mouths rounding
in awe its beauty. Kyle watched his father’s and Amy’s reaction, smiling at
the scene in the dining room.
~~~
At the
“One knock means be on your guard, two means the coast is
clear … and three will mean we're screwed.” Michael told Max.
“Right.” Max entered the room as Michael stood guard
outside.
Max searched the beds until he found
“Who are you?”
“I'm just a dream.” Max told the little girl. “Go
back to sleep.” He placed his hands on
“Excuse me?” The nurse said. “I'm supposed to check
this ward.”
“I'll save you the trouble. Someone just checked it.”
Michael told the nurse.
Inside the ward Max had gone on to heal another little
girl.
“Are you an angel?” The little girl asked.
“Go back to sleep.” Max whispered at her as he started
to heal her. The healing made Max’s vision blur as he struggled to the bed of
another child. Outside the room, the nurse had returned with a group of security
guards and pointed to Michael. Michael knew the game was up and he knocked on
the door three times sharply. The guards started heading toward Michael who then
opened the door. Going in, he locked the door from the inside with his powers
and then turned to see Max stumble and fall to the floor.
“Max!”
The guard banged on the door. “Open this door! Now!”
Michael glanced at the door and then at Max who was barely
conscious. “If there's a God, please help us now.” Michael went under
Max’s arm. Using his powers, he blew the window in the ward, one that normally
would not open. Pushing Max through, Michael looked back one more time at the
children as they slowly emerged from their beds feeling better than they ever
felt in their young lives.
The guard finally managed to open the door, using a chair
to knock it open. They rushed in with the nurses close behind. The adults
stopped in the doorway stunned to see a room full of once dying children playing
around and singing as the window was wide open allowing the fresh night air into
the room blowing away the smell of disease.
~~~
“Spaceboy …” Maria slammed the door to the apartment
in her hurry to find Michael.
Michael, who has been polishing the bumper, quickly covered
it up with a tarp as she walked towards him. “What's up?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I heard about what
you did for Sydney and those children.”
“Thank Max.” Michael told Maria. “I was against
it.”
“This whole … thing with
“You’re attracted to Brody?”
“Sure. He’s wonderful, but that doesn’t mean I love
him. I had one breakfast with him and a handful of conversations. I think I need
more time than that.”
“Take all the time you need.” Michael encouraged
shocked that he had missed Maria’s growing friendship with the older man.
“Anyway … about the present thing. Take your time. This
whole thing made me realize that it’s just not that important. Material things
… they don’t mean that much. Family does. I guess I was letting my
loneliness at this time of year, my disappointment of not being with my mom make
it harder than it needs to be.”
“I actually got you a present. I was just worried that I
wouldn’t get it to work, that it wouldn’t be ready so …”
“You did?” Maria smiled, charmed that he worked so hard
worrying about her. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Yea, I'm so excited!” Maria was practically jumping
out of her skin at the thought of Christmas, the fun of getting something bought
just with her in mind, giving a present she spent a lot of thought on, waiting
to see his reaction. Maria frowned when suddenly her other senses came on line.
“What is that smell?”
Maria looked around noticing what Michael was hiding.
Despite his protests, she pulled off the covering to the bumper.
“No,” Michael tried to stop her. “It's not … it's
not dry yet.”
“Is that a bumper?” Maria’s mouthed open in wonder.
“It … it's a bumper.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Maria looked at Michael laughing softly. “Is that, like,
a Jetta bumper?”
“Not yet, but it's gonna be.” Michael said uncertain
how she would take the present. It wasn’t exactly what he had planned, and
after last night in
“Michael …” Maria reached out to touch it, but
stopped herself because it wasn’t dry. “That is so thoughtful.”
“That's what I keep saying.” Michael told her, smug
that he was right. Maria got it, she always did.
“I mean, my bumper has been hanging …”
“From a string,” Michael finished pleased with himself.
“I know.”
“And I … I would have never, you know …”
“Got one for yourself,” Michael finished again.
“Exactly. So … Merry Christmas.”
“Thank you, Michael.” Maria hugged him hard, laughing
at how he always seemed to come up with something so off the wall, so …
Michael. “Thank you. You really didn’t have to do that.
“Maria …” Michael stared at the girl. He wanted her
to have something for Christmas, something like other people, wrapped in paper
and bows. A man like Brody, he could afford to buy her lots of presents, all of
them wrapped beautifully, expensive and thoughtful. He could treat her the way
she deserved, be that dream that replaced her father, a man in a limo taking her
away, to some place better than
“What? No. You didn’t have to …” Maria looked at
the stack of wrapped presents. “One of those is for me?”
“Turn around.” Michael walked over to the pile of
presents and rummaged through them until he found the one with Maria’s name on
it. “Merry Christmas.”
Maria stared at the present. He gave her presents, not
always formal ones, but this … “It’s wrapped.”
“I know.”
“You never wrap things. I mean a paper bag or maybe
rolled up in the Sunday funnies.” Maria looked at the present. “Isabel. She
did this for you?”
“Yeah. I asked for her help. I wanted you to have
something you would really like, and the hardware store was short on real
possibilities.”
“Michael … you didn’t have to do that.” Maria
stared at the present. “You already won the bet, hands down. Sydney … the
bumper, you outdid yourself.”
“Just open it.”
“Okay.” Maria slowly opened it preserving the paper.
Michael watched her quietly. He really couldn’t afford to give her things, but
he didn’t want to lose her to someone just because they could. Maria’s mouth
opened when she saw what was in the gift. “Michael … these are real
pearls.”
“What?!?”
Michael stared at the present. “Wow! Of...of course.”
“My God, this must have cost a fortune.” Maria shook
her head. “You … you can’t afford these. I love them, but … no,
they’re way out of your price range.”
Michael watched her face. “No they aren’t. I want you
to keep them.”
Maria put a hand to her mouth, uncertain at what to do. Christmas had always been a miserable time of year for her, and every year she struggled with an invading depression covering it up with holiday cheer. Michael, his simplistic view on the holidays and the effort he put into little things, did a lot to make her holi