Crash……..
Maria
glanced over at the others doing homework at the next booth at the Crashdown.
She noted that Liz was playing footsy with Max under the table, but she drowned
out the conversations, too caught up in her own thoughts.
Depression.
She was definitely depressed. This was the worst bout of it in years. Usually
this type of depression was associated with her mother’s failing
relationships, but for once, this had nothing to do with her mom. It was
Michael. All Michael. He still hadn’t spoken to her, and he was actively
avoiding everyone, even Max. He had even suggested
that Max find another place to flop.
It was
depressing to see him so aloof and far away, so untouchable.
At that moment Michael walked in with an armload of boxes
for the restaurant, and his steps faltered when he saw Maria looking at him but
then he stalked off into the back room.
“No?” Liz asked softly to Maria who shook her head
giving an exasperated sigh. No. He still hadn’t talked to her, and at this
rate, she was wondering if he ever would. Depression? Maybe her heart was
broken? Her mother was gone, too afraid of
“What?” Max said confused.
“Still no apologies from Michael,” Liz whispered. Maria
didn’t comment. She didn’t want an apology, even if Liz thought she deserved
one. Michael had done nothing to her, not really. She just wanted him to talk to
her, to quell her fears, be her friend again.
“… bah …” said Max, unsure why it was so important
right now, at this moment. Michael was still reeling from the incident. Time. He
would get better.
“Hey,” interrupted Kyle, “you know that king-thing
tattoo on Michael's chest?”
“That's gone.” Liz said offhandedly, staring at Max.
“Max is king, now.”
Maria rolled her eyes. Yeah, great fucking improvement, but
obviously it was important to Liz, after all she was holding off on getting
involved with Max again … but now that he was king again, she conveniently
forgot her caution as her foot was moving all over him. Alien kingship. Good
riddance in her mind. Let Max keep it. He obviously was accustomed to making bad
decisions, and unlike Michael, he rarely had any remorse for the consequences of
his actions.
“I know, I know.” Kyle said waving off the whole king
thing. Who frickin’ cared? Did it come with money, prestige, or even power?
“But what I was going to say is, that maybe Michael can get, like, ‘I'm
eternally sorry’ tattooed there instead, and just flash it every half an hour,
regardless? Saves time, cuts stress...” He turned to Maria. “Do we know the faux
pas?”
Maria shrugged. She had more pressing things on her mind.
First and foremost, she might need to go back on antidepressants. She wasn’t
sleeping at night.
Liz answered for Maria. “He, uh, threatened her life
saying anyone that knew about the alien thing should be taken care of, shoved
her out of a moving vehicle and left her in the middle of nowhere in the middle
of the night,” Liz listed the grievances adding, “without a shirt.”
Michael stormed out of the kitchen, tired of listening to
them talk about him. “The car was stopped! And I never threatened to kill
her!”
Maria frowned not wanting to be part of this fight. She was
sick of fighting. It made her stomach hurt … not a little, but a lot. “You
suggested I'd be better off if I was dead, and Jesse, and everybody else who
knows about your little ‘secret’ …” Maria reminded him, wanting to
smooth over the edges, explain how Liz was coming up with those conclusions.
“It was just a suggestion.” Michael said, his anger
hitting a new level when everyone gave him a skewed look at his response. He
could feel the need to be defensive, to defend his own nature, and he hated
that. “Why am I always apologizing to you guys about who I am?”
“That wasn't you, Michael!” Maria finally fully entered
the fray. There was a lot to Michael, but he wasn’t totally without
conscience.
“Yes, it was
me. Max was dead, I was king. I did what I had to do.”
“Fine.” Maria didn’t want to argue, but when she had
kissed him … she felt him, and he had been different. He had been Michael, but
there was a difference there as well. Usually she saw him in color, vivid and
alive … but the Michael she kissed in the Jetta had lacked color, and his aura
had been black, dark and lacking real light.
“I'm not sorry about it, either.”
“Fine!” Maria snapped, tired of it, all of it. He
wouldn’t talk to her, and this was it? Now not only was she no longer on his
side, but he was pushing her into the category with the others. Him against
them. It was lonely out there on your own, and Maria was horrified that he was
choosing it over everything they could’ve had.
“No, I'm not sorry.” Michael said more to himself as if
he was trying to convince himself as he walked off towards the door.
“Fine,” said Maria, feeling a need to cry. Her face was
stark and drained of color, her lips and eyes the only sign of life.
Michael saw that. He saw how haggard she looked. Sleep, or
the lack of it, was wearing on her, and she was obviously unhappy. Unable to
change that, or even knowing how to start, he slammed the door hard on his way
out, breaking the glass. Everyone looked shocked and concerned. Maria could only
shake her head.
She wanted to give him space. It was always the best way.
Michael always found his own balance, his own level, and it took time. Maria
wondered if she could hold on that long … long enough to give him the time he
needed to find himself, find something to even it all out. Her hands were
shaking, from what, she couldn’t say. Rage? Anger? Fear? Loneliness.
Kyle made a snorting noise. “Damn, he’s out of
control!”
“God, my dad is going to …”
“Shut up!” Maria said to them all. “Just shut
up! Stop dissecting him like he’s a freak! He never asked to have that
damn crest transferred to him. And I for one, am glad it’s gone. Whatever it
was … I think it’s corruptive.” She was too tired to stand. She was going
home. Maybe take a nap, but more than likely, she was going to stare at the
ceiling.
“Maria, we didn’t mean …” Liz said, trying to calm
her friend down. Maria was on an edge, a sharp one. Anyone could see that.
“Yes, you did. You always do! Michael is accountable for
everything. Why did he get the crest? Because Clayton Wheeler had evidence that
there was an alien that could heal. He suspected Michael, and it cost Michael
his friend, Monk. What gave Clayton Wheeler his first evidence about a healing
alien? Your uniform, Liz! Why the hell didn’t you burn it? Or … the miracle
children from Christmas. Who healed them? Who proved to Clayton that a person
was available possibly to heal him of his diseased state? Michael only got the
job at Meta-Chem for one reason, they were looking hard at him … he was
exposed because when he went with Max on his little guilt trip. He was
photographed in the hospital, and didn’t even know it. How about Burns? Do you
happen to remember another person … persons running around last year robbing
convenience stores, stealing alien diamonds … looking for a son that they’ve
now all but forgotten?” Maria laid it all out clearly. “Who exposed him,
Max? Who died because of that exposure, causing the crest to transfer? Not
Michael. He was an innocent in all of this, but I’ll tell you one thing.
He’s right about one thing … he was a better king.”
Maria saw the shocked disbelief on their faces.
“He was. He knew what had to be done to ensure survival.
He didn’t apologize for it, or back away. He never faltered or teetered in
indecision. King Michael was everything an alien king should be. Maybe by our
human standards it wasn’t what we wanted or wanted to see, but for an alien? I
think he was probably exactly what he was programmed to be.” Maria took off
her apron. “Why should he apologize? When did you ever, Max? Did you ever say
you were sorry for Alex? Tess? Saving Liz, exposing Isabel and Michael? When
have you ever felt the need to apologize for anything, even if it meant climbing
on a ship and leaving Liz forever? I counted at least twice that you almost did
that.” Maria was out of there. “Keep your damn crest … be the king of
whatever the hell it is that the stupid title comes with, because here on planet
earth, it means nothing. You are so much better suited for it. In truth, Michael
is too good for it. It did nothing but lessen him.”
They sat there in silence as the back breakroom door swung
shut behind her.
~~~
Michael was out in the desert, using a twig to make holes
in the dirt in the V-shape of the royal seal of Antar. He tossed the stick,
kicking the dirt with his foot. He was of two natures, and a large part of him
wanted that crest back. It had felt good. Right. A master of his own destiny,
and not a pawn, it gave him something … something he didn’t know he was
missing. Confidence.
He sighed heavily. It was over. All of it. Being king. His
friendship with Maria. Gone. He regretted both, especially Maria. He abused her,
and how he could walk back in the door after that, he didn’t know.
Getting on his bike, he was heading home. There was only so
much avoidance he could live with, and he really needed to talk to Maria, if not
for his sake, than hers. She looked terrible.
Michael frowned when he had trouble starting his bike.
There was a loud noise in the sky above him. Looking up, he saw two bright
objects streaking across the night. They collided, exploding in midair as the
remains hurled to the ground, each crashing separately in bright fireballs, one
blue and the other red. Suddenly Michael’s bike started up. Frowning at his
bike for a moment, he kicked it off, riding towards the crash site.
He could see the crash site from a high position as he rode
towards it. There was a parachute lying on the ground amidst the burning
wreckage of an Air Force jet. Michael slowly dismounted his bike to walk around
the site. Searching the parachute ejected pilot’s chair he found a helmet with
the name on its side. Standing, Michael searched the area around him looking for
the pilot.
“
Michael turned into the distance at the sound of
approaching vehicles and a helicopter. They were military vehicles, and the
helicopter was overhead searching with a light.
Oh damn! Michael rushed to his bike. He couldn’t be here!
He tried to start his bike, but it wouldn’t turn over. Nervously licking his
lips, he looked over his shoulder at the fast approaching vehicles. Finally the
engine started and Michael sped off, putting distance between him and the
military types.
~~~
A crash in
Liz sat in uniform at the counter watching the news report
while Mr. Parker enlisted Max’s aid in bringing out more merchandise from
storage.
“ ...stimulate
“Anything yet?” Jeff asked his daughter.
“They're downplaying it.”
“Even better,” said Jeff with a huge smile, “… make
it look like a cover-up. And Max, thanks for helping. Would you mind re-marking
those prices?”
“Uh, sure. What do you want them to be?”
“Double everything.”
Liz frowned at her father as he put Max to work on alien
souvenirs. “I can do it, Dad.”
Jeff shook his head gesturing to Liz and Maria, both in
uniforms ready to work. “No! You two have to be here to handle the rush.”
Maria who was brooding, lost in her own thoughts finally
registered the conversation. Looking up, she said incredulous, “The rush?”
She really hadn’t time for this. Spaceboy had been AWOL all night.
“Yeah!” The business man in Jeff Parker was inspired
beyond glee. “Oh. You're too young to remember. Back in 1986 there was another
‘unexplained incident’ outside of town. This place went wild!” Jeff
suddenly remembered something. “Oh,
Max, there's a box of neckties, the alien neckties, in the backroom near the …
mustard containers. D'you mind?”
“No problem.” Max was off again to conquer the back
storage area.
Liz watched Max walk off and cleared her throat. “Umm …
I don't think they're there any more.” She quickly followed as her father
became engrossed in the newscast as he gestured to it with a 'look at this, now'
gesture to Maria.”
“ ...get ready to our news conference. From what I'm
told, Major Pete Carlson, from the
“Unexplained.” Jeff told his captive audience of one,
Maria. “All he's got to say is it's unexplained. An ‘unexplained
incident’. An ‘unexplained encounter’ … Call it ‘unexplained’ and
those UFO freaks will be flooding this town … and we'll be swimming in
cash!!” he exclaimed gleefully, with entrepreneurial fervor. Maria gave him a
look. He was whacked. Certifiable. She shrugged, shaking her head. No worries.
She had seen that same gleam in her mother’s eyes too often to call Belleview
yet.
Jeff noticing how unimpressed Maria was, searched for his
daughter. Only just realizing she had vacated the area with Max, he yelled to
her in the back. “Liz!! Can you give me a hand out here??”
Liz voice called out from the back area. “Coming!”
Maria bit back a smile as Mr. Parker looked at his watch. No! He was going to
time her! She lifted an amused brow when Liz came rushing back into the
restaurant with the box of ties, quickly kissing her dad’s cheek sitting next
to him and Maria to watch the newscast.
Max, who watched Liz leave, barely had time to breathe as
Michael came through the back door.
“Hey …” Michael said drawing Max away from his Liz
watching.
Turning, Max frowned at the disheveled Michael. “Where
have you been?”
“Investigating a potential threat to our existence.”
Max sighed guessing correctly. “You were in the
desert?”
“All night.” Michael confirmed. “Ah … you couldn't
see much. They got perimeters around the perimeters out there.”
“Leave it alone.” Max told Michael.
“I …” Michael stopped. It hadn’t taken Max long to
forget he wasn’t his boss or king. “Max, are you nuts? I saw it. It killed
the engine on my bike. It went right over my head.”
Max was interested despite himself. He promised Liz he was
only interested in one thing … her, but this was too hard to ignore. “What'd
it look like?”
“Like a really great sci-fi special effect. Only real.”
“It was probably an Air Force jet.” Max told Michael
needing it to be nothing alien, nothing distracting.
“How do you know?”
“Word's out. Unofficially.” Max told Michael as he
walked away towards the lockers.
“Yeah, Max, I could tell you an Air Force jet was
involved, but the question is, in what?”
Max turned back slowly, warning Michael off, forgetting
that he wasn’t the king, and he wasn’t the boss. A lifetime of ordering
Michael around was too difficult to alter. “Look, we're too exposed right now.
Especially with Jesse.”
“At least he came through.” Michael was still surprised
that Jesse killed Burns to protect Isabel.
“He killed a federal agent. And right now, the last thing
we need is some bona fide alien from another world who's looking for trouble.”
Michael couldn’t believe Max. All these years, with all
that had happened from Alex dying to his own White Room experience, and Clayton
Wheeler, and Max was still an idiot. When did Max hiding his head, hoping it
wasn’t so, ever work or ever protect them? If there was a bona fide alien out
there, crashed and looking to get jiggy with it, pretending or avoidance
wasn’t going to make them magically disappear, just because Max didn’t want
to deal with it. Maybe it was better to see trouble coming rather than have it
ambush you.
“You scared I might find something?”
Max clarified. “… I'm terrified they'll find you.”
Michael rolled his eyes, and turned to leave. “Then I'll
handle it.” He walked out the door, leaving Max frustrated and apprehensive
with him.
~~~
In the dining area, Maria and Liz were on one side of the
dining area, working with the ties, while Liz's dad was up near the counter,
where he and some customers were watching the news on TV.
Liz glanced at Maria. They had barely spoken since Maria
lost it on them after Michael had left. “Did you talk to Michael?”
Maria shook her head. “He was gone all night.” She
sighed looking at the ties with little green alien men. “He’s not talking. I
know he will when he can, but it’s hard. My mom is gone to
“He’ll come around, Maria.” Liz cleared her throat.
“One thing I’m coming to accept is that he is your best friend, and you’re
his. He won’t walk away from that.” Liz didn’t finish what she wanted to
say. Michael wouldn’t walk away from Maria like Liz did when she fell in love
with Max. “I wish I still had that kind of relationship with you.”
“Liz …” Maria didn’t know what to say. Michael was
different with her than with others, and she knew most of them didn’t
understand that. “Liz, we’re still best friends.”
“It’s okay. I understand that your feelings for Michael
have changed, and I hope you someday get to tell him that.” Liz smiled, a part
of her sad that she didn’t have that same type of relationship with Max. All
they ever had was their love. They went from being strangers to being in love,
and it didn’t allow for much in the area of friendship building. There was
always too much between them, too many expectations, and too much pain.
Maria and Liz both looked over at Jeff’s voice talking to
the television. “Come on … ‘unexplained’ … ‘unexplained’, baby …
one little word … I'd even take ‘unknown’! Come on, say it … Say it!”
On the TV, reporters waited as Major Carlson approached the
podium.
“Major Carlson,” asked a reporter, “was it a UFO last night? Can you
tell me, was it a UFO?” Major Carlson walk past the reporters, followed by
a young woman Air Force Cadet. “… or a test flight?”
The TV Reporter turned to talk to the camera and the
viewing audience. “We're not going to get many words from right him now.
Stepping up to the podium and the microphone right now is Major Carlson, who is
expected to confirm what most people in Roswell have already heard through the
grapevine, that the UFO seen last night was an Air Force jet on a cross-country
test flight that apparently experienced …”
They watched as Major Carlson went to make his
announcement.
“Contrary to some reports this was not, repeat, not, a
UFO or an unexplained incident. This morning, at twelve minutes past
Liz and her dad had been blowing up inflatable green
aliens. When Jeff heard the news, he groaned and let his alien deflate balling
it up in his hand.
“Ohh!” Jeff said in misery, “I think it's time for a
going-out-of-business sale.”
“I'm sorry, Dad.” Liz hugged her dad. “Sorry.”
At the outdoor news conference, Major Pete Carlson was
still speaking. “… crashed
nineteen miles northwest of
Michael listened frowning at the incredulous account,
obviously a lie.
Carlson continued. “That's all I'm prepared to say at
this time, however, Air Force Cadet Connie Griffin, Colonel Griffin's daughter,
would like to say a few words.”
Michael listened as the woman, a young cadet talked to the
crowd. She told a little bit about her father and his death. Frowning, Michael
almost walked away, but he couldn’t.
Speaking from the back of the crowd, Michael asked a
question. “Excuse me, are you saying he didn't eject?”
Connie peered through the crowd seeing where the question
came from. “No, he didn't have the chance to eject.” Before Connie could
make any further comments, Major Carlson came forward ending the conference.
“That's all we have time for now. If we get any more
information we'll let you know.”
Michael peered to his side to find a stranger staring
directly at him. He looked away, but could still feel the man’s eyes on him.
When he looked back, the stranger simply looked away. As Michael looked away
again, the man returned to staring at him. Uncomfortable, Michael decided to
leave. The stranger stared after him as he walked away.
~~~
Connie Griffin was drowning her sorrow. It seemed fitting
to be in a room as rundown as the ones offered at the Pineview Lodge. Pouring a
stiff drink on the rocks, Connie toasted her father’s memory before taking a
drink from the plastic cup. It took a moment to register the creaking door as
Michael walked into her motel room.
“You might want to keep your head clear,”
he suggested.
“Who the hell are you?” Connie stood up straighter,
unwilling to show fear.
Michael ignored the question. “I believe your father's
alive.” Reaching under his jacket, Michael pulled out the helmet he found in
the desert. “He made it out of that plane.” He handed her the helmet.
“Where did you get this?” Beyond skeptical, she
couldn't believe what she was holding. Stepping away from Michael, Connie
examined the helmet.
“In the desert, about a half a mile from the crash
site,” said Michael emphasizing the rest of it, “next to his ejection seat.
But, he wasn't there.”
Connie frowned staring at the helmet. Suddenly, she whirled
angrily to face Michael.” What kind of sick bastard are you, huh?”
Michael was taken back, puzzled by her reaction. “Really, where did you
get this?? Some Army-Navy surplus? You buy some rub-on letters right after the
news conference?”
Michael sighed holding his patience.
“There's something in the lining you may want to look at.”
Connie stared at Michael for a moment before she searched
the lining. A photograph. It was on of her father holding her up as a child,
like she is flying. On the back there was a child's scrawl, ‘Daddy’s
Angel’. Connie released a sob, and began crying. Michael, uncomfortable, but
not wanting to leave her alone moved towards her, speaking softly.]
“Hey … it's okay …” He put a hand on her shoulder
in comfort much like he had done to Maria countless times, but she reacted
differently. To defend herself, she
elbowed Michael punching him hard in the face as he bent over, holding his nose.
“Agh! Damn!”
“Who are you?” Connie’s angry tone and stiffly held
body in attack mode was enough to make Michael stand back a little.
Michael swore under his breath, also angry. Hell, what was
it with everyone always hitting him? What was he? A damn punching bag? “I just
wanna know why they lied!”
“It doesn't matter.” Connie told him.
“What?” That made no sense. Her dad was alive and the
government lied about it, and she didn’t care?
“Whatever is going on, they must be doing it to protect
national security.” She explained to Michael as if she were talking to someone
of challenged intelligence. “That's what they do!”
“They lied to you.”
“Whatever I'm told, they tell me for a reason.”
Michael couldn’t understand her. He never would
understand unquestionable loyalty to an authority, especially to one that
deserved no such regard. “Your father may still be alive.”
“Carlson wouldn't lie about that,” Connie said. Her
father had to be dead.
“How do you know?” Michael asked a slight sneer moving
over his face. Of course they would lie. He had reason to know how the
government lied. “How do you know that?”
“Get out! Before I have you arrested for looting the
scene of a military investigation. That's a Federal offense, buddy. You could go
away for a long time.”
Michael could only shake his head. Hesitantly, he turned to
leave. It was hard. For a moment there, she reminded him of Maria. Connie held
the helmet as the door shut. Crying, she looked after Michael, wondering. Her
father … alive?
~~~
Michael watched from a discrete distance as Connie Griffin
met the officer from the press meeting. His curiosity was sparked, and after a
lifetime of weariness of the government, he wasn’t as naïve as Connie
believed him, or even as she was. Trusting he was not.
Michael swore under his breath when he watched Connie hand
Major Carlson the helmet. Fool! Shaking his head, he watched her get in her car
and drive away. Starting to follow her, he stopped for a moment when another man
came up to Major Carlson.
It was the spectator at the press meeting. The man who took
an interest in Michael.
Michael’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he followed the
man discretely keeping far enough behind him to avoid being seen on his bike.
~~~
Connie Griffin was driving down the road at night, when a
vehicle started tailing her. She couldn't see much in her rearview mirror except
glaring lights. The vehicle rammed her car. Pulling around her. it forced her
off the road. The pursuer car screeched to a halt as her car rolled and crashed.
Connie was stunned, the whistling of sound still in her
ears as she hung upside down held in place by the seatbelt. Struggling to get
free, she cried for help
“Help me, please!” Sobbing, she pulled on the belt that
had tightened on impact. “Somebody, please - help me - help - help me.”
Kneeling down, the man that had been talking to the Major
and watching Michael peered into the car. He smiled. “Hey. It's a beautiful
night. Just … try and relax … enjoy the desert air.”
Connie looked at the man with his smile, and she suddenly
struggled even more crying out all the time, hoping for a rescue. The man stood
up and placed a small timer device on the undercarriage of her car. He walked
away as the device began to count down in seconds. Without sparing Connie
another thought, he drove away.
As soon as the car cleared the road, Michael pulled up on
his bike. Swearing under his breath, he rushed over to her overturned car. He
knelt down to look in at her, to assess her status. She was alive and still
trying to get free.
“Cover your face!”
Michael waited until she complied before using his powers
to blast the door off its hinges. He reached in to get her loose. When they
stood up, there was only twelve seconds left on the timer as it continued to
tick down.
“How did you do that?”
“Do what?” Michael feigned innocence.
“The door … how did you …”
“The crash loosened the hinges. Come on!” He dragged
her out of there. There was only twelve seconds left on the timer that they
didn’t know about.
“What?” She kept looking back at the car, puzzled, as
Michael tried to pull her away.
“C’mon, I think we should get going …” There was
only six seconds left. Michael pulled Connie further away, to his motorcycle.
“Wait a minute, how did you know I was …”
“I told you that you were being lied to. I had a feeling
they'd try something once you turned that helmet in to Major-with-attitude.”
“You followed me?” Connie said in indignation,
forgetting he just saved her from her car. “Who the hell do you think you
…” Connie’s car exploded in a fireball cutting off her rant as both she
and Michael hit the ground.
“Any more questions?” Michael asked glancing over at
her shocked face.
~~~
Max and Liz were at Michael’s apartment studying. Liz had
asked a few times if it was okay for them to be there, but Max shrugged it off.
Michael hadn’t told him point blank to get out, so technically, he still lived
there. Maybe.
The back door opened, and Michael suddenly walked in, his
feet faltering as he saw Max and Liz in his apartment.
“Hey!” Michael swallowed his natural reaction to ask
them what they were doing in his place, but he had other things to worry about
at the moment. Max and Liz turned, looking over at Michael, who was with Connie
Griffin. “This is Connie. Her father is the pilot of that crashed Jet. Air
Force says he's a traitor on the run, but Connie doesn't buy it and neither do
I. They tried to kill her.”
Connie glanced at Michael and the other two teenagers,
uncertain, her voice still shaky. “Michael says he can help me.”
“Do what?” Max asks as he stood up.
“Find my father.”
Max walked over towards Michael gesturing to outside.
“Talk to you for a second?” Max and Michael went outside into the back.
“What's going on?”
“That's what we gotta try an' figure out.”
Max was more than a little exasperated. “What I'm tryin'
to figure out, Michael, is you. I don't even know what to say.”
“That's why you gotta trust your second-in-command to
know what's right.” Michael told him. He needed to do this. Max couldn’t
understand, but he really needed to see this through.
“‘What's right"? What's next? JFK was killed by
aliens? What's happening to you?”
“Me? What's happening to you?” Michael said in amazement. “We've got a major situation
here and you don't seem to care.”
“What situation would that be? Her or you?”
Max turned to walk back into the apartment, leaving Michael
speechless, incredulous. Michael reached out and dragged Max back.
“What, Max? Are you my boss again? What, if I’m out of
control as you term it, you just gonna kill me? Put me down? You sit in my home
… swear you aren’t my boss, and yet you use me, my home, and my friendship
to your advantage, by your damn leave! Always the King! One that doesn’t chose
to lead unless it personally interferes with his lame life. Maybe I need this?
Maybe for once this isn’t about you?”
~~~
At the Crashdown, Maria sat two milkshakes down in front of
the assassin, the man watching Michael and who tried to kill Connie, and Major
Carlson. The assassin looked mostly unremarkable, like a 30s-something yuppie
with medium brown hair, a receding hairline, a crooked nose, and a cold, bored
expression. His dress was casual, a windbreaker, pressed blue shirt, and khakis.
As always, Major Carlson was in uniform. His friendly-looking face under tight
control as he focused on his duty.
“Ready to order?” Maria asked pleasantly, already
regretting the extra shift she picked up to get over her Michael problems.
The man smiled his strange smirk, pointing to Carlson.
“Major?”
“I'm fine with this.”
Maria nodded looking pointedly at the other man. “And
…”
“Uh, could I have … a … penne pasta with chicken,
sundried tomatoes … in a marinara sauce, please.”
“Ah, no … we only have spaghetti.” Maria already had
a long day. Trying to be patient, she brushed her loose bangs back with the
pencil she had in her hand.
“That's not what I want.” The man said frowning at the
menu.
“What you want is the Olive Garden.”
Major stared hard at the assassin, intervening in his
ordering. “He'll have a hamburger. Just bring him a hamburger.” At the edge
of her patience, Maria nodded walking off.
The man leaned towards the Major. “I don't eat red
meat.”
Ignoring him, the Major had more important issues to deal
with. “Did you do it?” He sighed in relief when the man nodded then smiled.
He was one sick man. He smiled as he takes a pull on the straw in his milkshake,
a man that enjoyed his work. “Did you find anything in her hotel room?”
“No.”
“What about the helmet? Who gave it to her?”
“Kid named Michael Guerin. I ID'd him off a local news
tape.”
“Are you sure it's him?”
“I will be, after I break a few of his fingers.” He
smiled again. “This is a great milkshake.”
Back near the kitchen doors, Maria put some dishes in a pan
giving a hard sideways look to the Major's companion.
“Sundried tomatoes …” She scoffed which turned into a
gasp as Michael suddenly snatched and dragged her into the back kitchen area.
“We need to talk.”
“Ow!” Maria pushed his hands off her. “You should be
slapped!” She straightened her uniform, not in the least bit pleased to see
Michael. He had ignored her forever, then suddenly manhandled her. Before she
could list her grievances, she turned to see Max, Connie, and Liz standing
behind them. “Who's this?” What? He ignored her, then shows up with another
woman. Maria’s eyes narrowed with deadly intent.
“Uh, ah … Connie Griffin.”
“Ohh!” Maria’s mouth rounded in sympathy. “You're
the pilot's daughter, right?”
“Yeah, she's in trouble.” Michael told Maria, his hand
unconsciously stroking the area he had gripped her. She bruised easily.
“My father's missing.”
“M-missing?” Maria said confused, she shook her head at
Michael. “Isn't he …? The news has been saying that …”
“No, he's not dead.”
Max joined the conversation breaking the silent looks
between Michael and Maria. “Michael says the man with the Air Force guy is a
killer.”
Liz walked over to the kitchen door to look through the
window at the Major and the assassin.
“Yeah, he ran her car off the road and tried to blow it
up because she has proof the Air Force is lying to the public about her
father.” Maria lifted a brow. He had been busy, and it somewhat upset her that
he did it without her. Depressed, Maria went to look out the window with Liz
after Connie nodded confirming Michael’s story. The entire group exchanged
worried looks as Liz peers through the small door window.
“Come on guys, the Air Force is hiding something. Maybe a
crashed UFO.” Michael said, needing a little help from the reluctant Scooby
gang. Max breathed in slowly looking
over at Connie, who looked at him pleading.
Standing, Max nodded asking Michael, “What do you
propose?”
“They're leaving!” Liz said over her shoulder.
The entire group walked over to watch the two men leave. As
the two left the Crashdown, Michael and Max went out into the dining area to
watch them further, through the main doors.
“I say we hook the small fish to hook the big fish.”
“Do you really think there's a ship mixed up in this?”
Max asked quietly.
“I'm not sure, but I'm not sure it's important anymore,
either.”
“So what is?” Max asked surprised by Michael’s
answer.
“Doin' the right thing.” He needed that right now.
Being King had left something in him, something dead … sick, and he needed it
purged.
Max looked back towards the kitchen, where he could see the
three girls looking out through the pass-through.
“Was there a collision?”
“What …” Michael was confused, he followed Max’s
glance. “Between me and her?”
Max shook his head turning back, frowning at Michael's
mistake. “Between her father's ship and a UFO.” Michael glanced over at
Maria. “What, are you no longer interested in Maria?”
“Don’t be stupid. And, Maria is none of your
business.” Michael told Max. “As far as the ship? Maybe. I dunno. You gotta
help me.”
Max owed Michael that much, and he knew it. “We force the
little fish to talk, and we're at risk. We may have to kill him.”
Michael was speechless for a moment. He hadn’t thought
that far ahead, and he wasn’t sure his soul could take much more in the way of
violence. He spied two decorative alien Halloween masks on a shelf.
“I got a better idea.”
~~~
At the Air Force base, Major Carlson walked into a secure
room, where a man in a dark khaki Air Force jump suit lays chained to a cot with
his head covered in a cloth sack. As he reached up to remove the sack from the
prisoner's head, Carlson critically viewed the bruises on the prisoner’s face.
He smiled at his old friend.
Connie’s father, Ted Griffin blinked owlishly at the
increased light. “Pete.”
“Ted.”
“So what now?”
The Major started to speak, but just said, “No more
questions.”
Carlson shook his head. “No more questions …”
“Well, I got one for you.” It only seemed fair. He was
a dead man anyway he looked at it. “Who was flying that thing?”
Carlson smiled and shrugged. “As soon as we figure out
how to get the cockpit open, we'll have an answer to that question.” His smile
faded. “… but I'm afraid you won't.”
“Because I'll be dead.”
“Actually …” Carlson walked to the end of the cot,
picking up once of
“I never ejected.”
“No.”
“What does Connie think?”
“What the rest of the media-fed world thinks, that you
… brought a malfunctioning billion dollar jet down into an unpopulated area to
save lives.”
“And the guards outside my door?”
“They think you're a saboteur and spy. And they'd like to
see you shot.”
“Well … we've got … protocol in these situations.”
“Protocol,”
The Major covered
~~~
The assassin crept into Michael's dark apartment. Using a
flashlight to look around, he was wearing latex gloves. The front door suddenly
creaked back open, but the doorway remained empty. He pulled his gun in caution,
frowning at the door. Cautiously, he looked around the place until his light
fell upon two alien-looking figures standing in the corner. Before he could
shoot, the gun was knocked out of his hand by an unseen power. It hit the wall
with such force it knocked a hole in the plaster and embedded itself. The last
thing he saw was an alien figure as it punched him.
~~~
The man was sitting in a chair. Max’s green energy force
held his arms down. He couldn’t pull loose.
“Oh, my god …” He looked over to see the two alien
figures watching him from behind the distortion of a bright green energy field.
“What do you want?” He asked angrily, his tone defiant.
There was no response from the aliens. “What do you want?” He asked louder.
“Where is Colonel Griffin?” The first alien asked in a
high-pitched distorted voice. No answer.
“Where is Colonel Griffin?” Alien two asked in the same
high-pitched voice.
“I … I … I don't know who that is. Look, what is
this?”
An alien extended a hand towards him, and suddenly he was
spinning in his chair, so fast he couldn't see anything. As the man was
spinning, the force shield dropped. Max and Michael were dressed in the
Halloween masks and some sort of silvered reflective sheets. They turned behind
them briefly, glancing at each other with a quick smile, to breathe out of some
helium balloons before turning back to the man in the chair. Max put his force
shield back up.
“Where is our ship?” Max asked.
The assassin gaped at them, gasping and speechless. Max
gestured to Michael, raising his arm and moving his fist up and down. Yeah, the
man was a total jack-off.
“Prepare the probe.” Max told Michael menacingly.
Michael winced under his mask. Yeah, right, he always got all the shit jobs.
Literally.
“Wait. I … wait … I … I swear, I … I don't know
anything!”
“Where is Colonel Griffin?” Michael asked again.
“Where is our ship?”
The man still refused to answer.
“We will get answers.” Max told the man as he walked
towards him. The man took off spinning again.
~~~
It was early morning. The group had held up at the
Crashdown after the interrogation. Michael had briefly told Maria about the
interrogation as Connie listened, and Maria frowned, worried that maybe Max and
Michael had a tad too much fun. Michael continued talking as he finished
dressing in the assassin’s clothing barely glancing up at the stairs when Max
and Liz came down.
“They're gonna kill him.” Michael said, trying to tie
the tie after another failed attempt. Maria brushed his hand aside and did it
for him.
“What?” Connie’s voice raised in concern, and a touch
of disbelief.
“He saw something and they need to get rid of him. A
clean team is on its way to pick him up and take him to the desert.”
“I'm getting there first.” Max informed Connie. She
glanced at Max finally seeing his uniform. It was a highly decorated
high-ranking Air Force shirt, and Max was holding a beret.
“Where'd you get those clothes?”
Michael quickly interrupted before Connie asked to many
questions. “We've got a plan.”
“You've 'got a plan'?” Connie looked at the four
teenagers, shaking her head in disbelief. “No, no, no, no. We're talking about
my dad, here. I'm not just gonna let some high schoolers…”
“Hey!” Maria said, taking offense at the diss. They
weren’t just any ‘high schoolers’, they were experts. “We've had
practice, okay?”
“Who are you people?”
“We're the good guys.” Michael reassured her.
“Maxwell, we gotta go.” Michael headed towards the door.
“Yeah.” Max said to Michael as he looked at Liz. “You
know where to meet us …”
“In two hours.”
“Right.” Max put on his beret. “Connie, we'll get him
back. I promise.”
Max turned towards the door, but Liz reached out to touch
his elbow.
“Hey, be careful. If there really is a spaceship, don't
get on it.”
Max smirked. “Not a chance in hell.”
Michael stood at the door for a moment, his eyes meeting a
quiet Maria’s. He walked back to talk to her. She was hugging herself, looking
at him doubtfully.
“I’ve been away lately.” She nodded at that
understatement. “There are things … things left unsaid, and I want to talk
to you about them, but not until after this.” Michael glanced at the time.
“Is that okay?” Maria nodded. Michael breathed in relief. At least she was
still willing to talk to him. “By the way, I'm sorry for suggesting you'd be
better off dead.” It was an apology he owed her, one that weighed on him.
Maria nodded and smiled wryly. She couldn’t talk, not
now, there was too much she needed to say, and even more that she was afraid of
saying. Shaking her head, she punched Michael on the shoulder.
“Go.” She said gesturing towards the door and Max.
“Do a good thing.”
Michael gave that smile she liked, the one that was tenuous
and shy. He started to walk away from her, but stopped to pull her in his arms,
hugging her tight. He whispered in her ear, “I missed you.” Then he was
gone, heading for the door.
Maria watched as Michael and Max left, Michael glancing one
last time before he went through the door, a slight smile pulling on the edge of
his mouth.
“They're going to need IDs to get on the base.” Connie
told the girls as she bit on a fingernail in worry. Maria and Liz exchanged a
knowing glance.
~~~
Diane Evans was in her kitchen making breakfast for herself
and Isabel. With Philip and Jesse gone, Diane was able to talk Isabel into
spending the night after a long day of shopping. Nervous about what she was
doing, Diane made a huge breakfast. Pancakes. Isabel liked pancakes.
Diane called to her daughter. “Isabel? Honey, breakfast
is almost ready!”
Isabel called back to her mother she would be there in a
moment, she answered her cell phone. It was Jesse.
“Hello?”
“Did I wake you up?”
“No, I'm up …” Isabel sighed. It was good to hear his
voice. “How are you?” She asked, her voice a little unsteady. He didn't
answer, but she could hear a heavy sigh.
“Jesse …”
“Your father's asking questions.”
Isabel sat down on her bed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he's on to you. He knows I'm covering something
up. He knows it's something bad.”
“How can he know that?” They were careful. They covered
their tracks.
“Because he's not stupid, Isabel.”
Isabel worried a nail, as her pretty face marred with worry
lines. “What did you tell him?”
“I didn't tell him anything.”
Isabel was clearly upset as her voice wavered a bit.
“When are you coming home?”
“We'll be back tonight.” Jesse’s voice paused over the phone. “Where
are you?”
“At my mom's.”
“Is she giving you the third degree?”
“Yes.” Isabel breathed out in a whisper.
“It's just a matter of time. They're working on this
together now.”
“Dammit … dammit!” Isabel didn’t want this to
happen. She didn’t want to lose her parents like she was losing Jesse.
“It's just a matter of time.”
“I have to go.” Isabel disconnected her phone abruptly,
leaving Jesse shaking his head on the other end of the line. He turned off his
phone looking grim.
Isabel sat on her bed in a high state of agitation. Using
her powers, she sent objects in the room flying around her in a whirlwind. In
the kitchen, Diane heard strange sounds coming from Isabel's room. Going down
the hall, she knocked on the door.
“Isabel? Are you all right, honey?”
With one flick of her hand, Isabel sent everything back to
its rightful place. “Yes, mother, I'm fine.” Her voice lowering to a hushed
whisper. “… just fine.”
Isabel walked out of the room never noticing on a shelf,
hidden in a small gift bag, a video camera has been recording everything.
~~~
At Rogers Air Force Base, Max and Michael arrived in a van
commandeered from the military with the help of the girls. Max was driving with
Michael next to him wearing the assassins face as they were passed into the
complex.
“It's up here, on the right.” Michael told Max from
behind his mask. He was wearing a mask altered to appear as the assassin.
“Got it.” Max glanced at Michael. “Go check out the
ship. If there is one.”
Michael paused before jumping out. “And if there're
occupants?”
“We'll deal with it later. I got this.” Max located
Connie’s father in a room under heavy guard. He used his fake credentials to
get him into the room with a gurney, under it was the gagged and bound assassin.
Liberating
~~~
Elsewhere, still in disguise as the assassin, Michael
walked around a secured area. From an observation booth, he looked down into a
large hangar-like area which was buzzing with activity. There were several
persons dressed in safe suits, working at various stations and equipment. There
was a large area curtained off, with hanging sheets of plastic from the ceiling
and personnel moving in and out of an area.
Using an electronic pass card, he entered a room with a
"Bio Hazard - Entry Prohibited" sign on the door. Walking past tables
where various objects were being studied and tested, Michael saw a small object
of interest. He palmed it and walked off.
~~~
Liz glanced at her watch one more time. It was almost time
to leave, but the minutes were ticking down at an incredibly slow rate, or at
least it felt like that. It didn’t help that Connie was nervous and worried.
“It'll be okay.” Liz told the young cadet.
“I should've gone with them.”
Maria squeezed her hand in comfort. “You would've been
stopped.”
“They could die …” Connie told the two teenage girls,
trying to stress the danger.
“They've had practice …!” Liz reassured her,
“Dying?”
“No,” Liz said quickly covering it up. “I meant,
things like this.”
“Do things like this happen a lot around here?” Liz and
Maria exchanged a look. Connie caught the look between the two friends. “Why
don't you leave?”
“We've tried.” Maria told her, thinking of her
Liz shrugged. “No place like home.”
“If they get him out …” Connie started in a doubtful
voice.
“They will.” Liz reassured her again.
“We won't be able to go home. They'll come after us.”
Connie saw her suspicions were correct as Maria and Liz both looked at her
sadly, neither of them denying it. Connie’s stature straightened. “Let 'em.”
~~~
At the base, Michael and Max rendezvoused. Michael was
still in disguise, and Max was wheeling the cart back out, no body on top.
“Is there a ship?” Max asked Michael.
“There's a ship.”
“Dammit!” Max said as he and Michael opened the side
door of the van.
“Don't you hate it when I'm right?”
“Usually,” Max said as he stopped to really look at
Michael. “But to be clear, I don't hate you.”
“I know that.” Michael looked at the empty gurney.
“Where's
Max removed the sheet, so he could help
They cleared the gate of the Air Force Base, before Michael
used his powers to transform his disguise into one of the alien Halloween masks.
He peeled it off, and tossed it aside.
Michael glanced back to the base that was showing increased
activity. “This is where I'd step on it.”
Max had to agree as they sped into the desert.
While Max drove, Michael crouched in the back of the van to
talk to Colonel Griffin. Michael handed him a wet washcloth for the cut on his
lip.
“Thanks.” The Colonel said while dabbing his busted lip
with the wet cloth.
“Not a problem.”
“Now … who are you?”
“The cavalry,” Michael reassured the man. “Your
daughter's waiting for you. She knows everything.”
“Everything?”
“Enough to know that your lives are going to be very
different from now on.”
“I guess that means we'll be running.”
“I guess so.” Michael decided to give the Colonel a bit
of advice. “You might wanna keep the UFO thing to yourself.”
“How do you know about that?”
“We've got our ways.” Michael said flippantly, but the
Colonel’s face didn’t alter, but remained firm on Michael.
“I was an eyewitness,” said Michael giving more
details. “I saw your plane hit the other ship. That was how I found your
ejected seat, helmet, and no you. I told your daughter.”
The older man stared at the young boy for a moment, in awe
of how close his life could’ve been over had not this one teenager witnessed
the crash. “Thank you.”
Michael nodded, an unusual smile pulled at his mouth, as he
climbed back up into the front seat.
~~~
The van pulled up to where the girls were waiting with
Max's convertible. Colonel Griffin jumped out of the van's side door as Michael
and Max climbed out of the front.
“Dad!”
“Connie! Oh!” The two, father and daughter hugged in a
tight embrace as Max put his hand on the side of the van, changing the color of
it.
Michael gave them a few minutes to reunite before
intruding. “I think you guys better get going.”
“Yeah.” The Colonel had to agree, as he held his
daughter. “They're gonna be looking for a silver …” He stopped talking
when he noticed that the van was now white instead of silver.
“Uh … wasn't that van …”
Connie walked over towards the van, stopping in front of
Max. “How did you … do that?”
Max shrugged looking at Michael. “Like the man said,
we've got ways.”
Connie gave a huffing laugh before addressing Michael.
“Thank you.” She gave him a big hug, and a quick kiss on the cheek as the
others watched. Maria with her arms crossed bounced on her foot impatiently as
the embrace ended. She wasn’t ready to actually see Michael around other
women, especially ones that owed him everything. Things had been so much easier
when they were just friends, before Michael had the crest.
~~~
Liz smiled at Max. “That was different. Saving someone
else's bacon for a change.”
“Yeah …” Max agreed, “it feels good.”
Michael pulled the stolen artifact out of his pocket. It
was a black cone with no markings. “There's a ship.”
“Wonderful …” Liz said rolling her eyes. “And is
there an alien pilot?”
“Don't know …” Max told her.
Maria looked at Michael.
“Don't you wanna find out?”
“For now we should stay as far away as possible from that
base.”
“Fine with me,” Max said agreeing with Michael.
“Let's go home. Just … it's been a day.”
Michael and Maria stood back as Max and Liz went to get
into the Cheville. Smiling, Maria gave Michael a coy expression as she circled
around in front of him, looking at him expectantly. He reached out to touch her,
and Maria easily walked in closer to him.
“We need to talk,” he told her.
“We do.”
“I think I’m ready. How long can you stay?”
“As long as it takes.” Maria quickly hugged him, happy
to have him back. “You did real well, Michael.”
While Liz and Max got in the convertible, Michael picked up
Maria and put her into the back seat as he jumped in beside her.
~~~
When they got back to Michael’s apartment, he got out of
the convertible giving Maria his hand to help lift her out of the back. Pushing
her towards the apartment, Michael turned back barring Max and Liz.
“Hey, look. I, um …” Michael scratched his brow.
Staring at Max, he blew out the air from his lungs. “Look, I need some space
for a little while. I need to talk to Maria, and I want to cook her dinner
tonight, so you think you can find someplace else to flop?”
“I guess I could go visit Isabel. Jesse’s out of
town.”
“Great.” Michael got that done, so now he was in a
hurry. “Yeah, just um, … call before coming back, or you know what? I’ll
call you.” Michael rushed off before Max found a way to con his way back into
the apartment.
“Talk?” Liz asked skeptically. “I don’t know, Max.
Maria’s been upset lately, and …” Liz shrugged. “Maybe we should run
interference for her.”
“Maybe we should give them space.” Max looked at the
closed door. It was frickin’ about time.
~~~
“Michael?” Maria said searching behind his back.
“Where are the others? Max and Liz …”
“Took off.” Michael closed the door, coming into the
apartment closer to her. It felt strange to be too afraid to enter her personal
space. He hated that. He hated that he had created the rift.
“Why?”
“I asked them to.” Michael came closer, picking up a
strand of her hair between his two fingers testing the silkiness. “We need to
talk.”
The Talk. Yeah, that was overdue by about three years, but
definitely now that it all came to head with evil King Michael.
“We do. Did you want to sit down?” Maria tried to move
a little away from him, to keep her distance. He noticed that immediately and
brought her back to him with an arm around her center, unwilling to let this
split continue.
“Maria …” His voice was hollow and dry. “If ever I
make you afraid of me …”
“I am afraid.” Maria said frowning when she saw his
react. The flinch was telling, and she didn’t want that. She didn’t want him
to apologize or shut down on her before she could finish. “I’m afraid of so
many things, it’s not funny.”
“Maria …” Michael held her eyes, his bleak.
“No, let me finish. Please?” Maria took a huge deep
breath when he nodded. “I’m not afraid of you … for
you at times, but never of you. I’m
afraid that my nature of hiding, of avoiding will make me too afraid to reach
for the only thing that makes sense to me, the only thing I want. I’m afraid
that I’ll spend my entire life protecting my heart from pain and from being
hurt that I’ll never feel anything.” She took a shuddering breath as she
rushed the words before she became too afraid to say them. Moving close to him,
she looked up into his eyes, hers pausing for a moment on his mouth. “But …
most of all, I’m afraid that day you weren’t you, that you were someone
else, and you’ll never kiss me that way again.”
He moved quickly. Groaning, his mouth found hers and he
moved into her, hard. Maria gave a soft sound in her throat, one of almost
distress as he surprised and overwhelmed her at the same time, her arm moving to
wrap around his neck, so she could be even closer to him.
He was too far away … not close enough. Maria’s hands
moved over his body as his did the same, their mouth mated, devouring, as their
hands moved offensive clothing aside, gasping when flesh met flesh. Breathing
harshly, Michael looked at her through hooded eyes, as he pushed her shirt off
her shoulders, his eyes dark and intense as he paused at moving any further.
Maria helped him. Not caring, irritated by the pause, she
easily tossed her bra aside mating her naked chest to his, his shirt already
removed by her. They both moaned as their mouths moved on each other, gashing
teeth and tongues moving, invading. Moving together, their joined limbs lacked
coordination as they bumped and stumbled over furniture.
Michael hugged Maria so tight into his body. Her arms moved
between them to pull her even closer to him, her hand gripping him hard as nails
left half moon impressions on his skin. Michael’s mouth found Maria’s
repeatedly coming back for more. He could feel his body responding to the kiss
and it grew in need and intensity. His heart sped up and had a fluttery feel
like it did when he kissed Maria before in the car, but this was more, much
more. His stomach hollowed out and a sensation of being hungry seemed to grow
inside of him.
The more he was with Maria, the closer they got, the more
he needed. The need was a culmination of years too close, but denied, of a year
of wanting her. The night in the Jetta only fueled the need, but now, his body
was protesting any signs of slowing down. Need. That he understood. Want. That
he understood too. But, this? This was more.
Her skin was too far away. He needed to feel his skin on
hers. All of his skin, not just their chests. He wanted her hands on his body
like it had been in the Jetta. The hunger seemed almost insatiable.
Picking Maria up to allow her legs to wrap around his
waist, Michael meant to carry her to the bedroom, but she wiggled out of his
arms, her hands on him dragging him to the floor. Michael laughed. Yeah, he
wouldn’t make it. They wouldn’t make it. His craving for her seemed more
intense than usual. Ever since he had been King, it seemed like he had opened
something, something he couldn’t control or deny. It was like a physical ache
deep within his body. He was out of control … they were out of control, so out of control and it felt great.
Michael came back to his senses when she gave a cry at
penetration. Shaking his head, his eyes dilated, and he pulled back a little,
slowing the action, or at least he tried. Maria’s eyes met his and he
swallowed hard at the darkened green of her gaze, as her mouth found his again,
and her hands pulled him back into the maelstrom.
Michael couldn’t track the moments, the sex and the
passion. It was a hodgepodge of sensations all moving together, with the feel of
Maria’s body, her tightness, the touch of her hands on him, and her mouth
sucking on his skin. The movement of energy and excitement increased, and climax
took on an entirely different meaning as they rolled on the floor, him moving on
top, to be pushed on bottom as he held her watching her ride him to completion.
It might have been the first time or second when he got the
bruise on his inner thigh, but it was definitely the third time when he fell off
the bed, that gave him the bruise on his hip. Maria had followed him down,
laughing as she landed on him in a heap. The phone rang, and they ignored it.
Michael was breathing hard. “Should we talk?”
Maria shook her head. “We’ve been talking for three
years.” She pulled him under again. “Later.”
Michael smiled when her mouth met his, and suddenly he
really didn’t care as long as she stayed and they were together.
~~~
Philip Evans came home that evening. He was surprised to
see his wife sitting in the living room instead of meeting him at the door. They
had arranged to have her get Isabel home while he had Jesse away. Diane was
holding a VCR remote control with shaking hands.
“Honey, I'm home.” He walked into the living room to
find his wife watching a video, engrossed and horrified. “What's wrong?”
Diane Evans didn’t respond. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the video
screen. “Hey, are you okay?” He knelt down beside her, concerned. Honey? Are
you okay?”
Diane nodded towards the screen, and Philip turned to look
at it. Shocked, he saw Isabel in the midst of a whirlwind of flying objects.
“Oh, my God ...”
He continued to watch in shock as Diane puts her head down
against his shoulder.
~~~
“Maria?”
“Hmm?” Maria snuggled deeper
into the covers. Michael glanced at the clock and grimaced.
“Are you hungry?” Michael
waited as the lump next to him stilled. She was taking stock of herself, and he
watched as the cover came down and she flipped over to look at him.
“Actually … starving.”
Maria’s hand came up to touch him, her hand gentle on his face. “Any
suggestions?”
“Pizza?” Michael suggested,
smiling when she nodded. Excellent. That was delivery.
They ate in bed. Maria moved her
slices away from him making sure he didn’t scam her out of essential
nutrition.
“So, I think we just made new
headways in interspecies relations and communication,” Maria joked eying the
pepperoni on his slice. Why did he always get the slice with the most pepperoni?
Suspecting that he took from hers, her eyes narrowed.
Michael lifted a brow and fed
her a piece of pepperoni off his pizza, amused at her reaction when the
“Are you okay? Did I …”
“Yes, you did,” Maria said
not waiting for him to finish. “You most certainly did, and I lost
count at four.”
Michael pinched her side. “I
wasn’t talking about that!” He made a face at her.
“Oh?” She said, not so
innocently.
“Oh.” Michael stared at his
food. “Promise me that this won’t mess us up. I … promise me, Maria that
we won’t ruin our friendship by taking this further.”
Maria looked at him. “I
can’t. I don’t know where this is going. I just know that I love you, and
for a while now I knew I was in
love
with you.” She bit her lip. “I wish I could see into the future and swear
that this is it, that we’ll always be together, because that is what I want. I
can’t. I can only promise that I love you, and I won’t leave you.”
Michael tossed his uneaten pizza
in the box and set it on the floor beside the bed. “Can I tell you
something?”
Maria leaned into him, her hands
on him as she kissed him, her eyes on his face. “Always.”
Michael took a deep breath. “I
thought … when I was King Michael, when I had the crest that I ruined our
friendship again …”
“Again? I don’t remember you
ruining it before.”
“When I asked you to send
Billy away. You backed away from me, and I knew I overstepped some boundary,”
he reminded her lying back and bringing her with him. He was having an
impossible time keeping his hands off her.
“Oh.” Maria looked down at
him from where he was lying back in the bed. It wasn’t hard to notice that his
eyes kept dropping to her breasts. “Well, that wouldn’t quite be true. You
didn’t upset me because of Billy.”
Michael tore his gaze away to
look at her face. “Maria, you avoided me! I volunteered to be Isabel’s
stupid Santa just so I could be near you.”
“Oh, no, you’re right. I was
avoiding you, but not because of Billy, or that you asked me to tell him to
leave.” Maria laid down on him, her arms crossed on his chest as their legs
tangled. “I told you that Billy and I kissed, right?”
Michael made a snorting noise in
his throat. “Yeah! You told me.”
“I told you that it was like
an awakening, right?”
“Yeah.” Michael answered
cautiously, his tone dark and dry. He breathed in deeply as he tried to keep his
jealousy under control. She hadn’t been his then … he stopped for a second,
his eyes moving over her face. She was his. He actually thought that way. Since
that night in the Jetta, since he had been King, actually since the day he
kidnapped her and the Jetta to go to
“Well, it was an awakening. I
was sleeping, or living in this huge denial about you. Billy kissed me, and I
kissed him back. All I could think was that it wasn’t you.” Maria moved a
hand up his chest, her fingertips smoothing over his skin. “He was kissing me,
and I wanted it to be you,” she shrugged wryly. “How could I share a bed
with you after that? I mean my hands, my mouth, everything … I wanted to touch
you, and keep on touching you. I didn’t trust myself to be that close to you.
I was afraid I’d ….” She made a face. “I don’t know... Take advantage
of you, maybe move our friendship someplace you didn’t want, and maybe even
risk ruining everything between us.”
Michael sat up a little, shock
moving over his face. “Let me get this straight. You avoided me not because I
made you send Billy away, but because you wanted to …” Michael cleared his
throat. “...do me?”
“Do you?” Maria laughed at that. “Oh …
well, ‘doing you’ was the least of what I fantasized about, but yeah, it was
definitely the start of it.”
Michael slumped back into the
bed. “I’m an idiot!” He shook his head. Months wasted. “Nope, I’m
sharing this blame. You’re an idiot too.”
“Well, not that I haven’t
mentioned that before, but really you should cut yourself some slack, and …”
Maria paused. “Did you just call me an idiot?”
“I stayed on Earth for you.”
Michael reminded her, quickly cutting her off.
Maria stopped talking, something
that almost never happened. Her eyes were suspiciously bright. “Me? That was
why you left the pod chamber that day?”
Michael nodded. “Saying
goodbye to you … it was the hardest thing I ever did, and I wasn’t prepared
for that. I always thought that I would just walk away. I got there, looked at
the countdown, and I knew. I knew that leaving … that if I left that I would
be walking away from the most important thing that every happened to me, and I
couldn’t do it. What if I never felt about anyone else the way I felt about
you?”
“Michael …”
He stopped her. “You don’t
have to feel the same way. I just thought you should know.”
Maria sniffed, a slight smiled
pulled at her mouth. “Can you still read me? Feel what I feel? Do you still
get flashes?”
Michael nodded.
“Good. Then kiss me. Kiss me
and tell me if I haven’t always felt completely in love with you.”
Michael didn’t have to be
asked twice. Their mouths met in a rush of breath, his hand moving under her
hair to hold her head firmly to his as their eyes closed. In a gasp, they both
opened their eyes to stare at each other, and with a groan, he pulled her mouth
back to his.
