Graduation…….

Michael groaned.

“Stop it.” Maria told him.

“Make me.”

Maria tossed a box of dryer sheets at his head. “Michael, stop pissing and moaning. It’s just laundry.”

Michael glanced at the pile of clothing, moaning again without thought. “Maria, this isn’t just laundry. We’re never going to get this done.” What the heck was wrong with the laundry in his building? Maria made him go to an actual Laundromat, something about bulk dryers.

“We toss it in a few bulk loading washers, feed in numerous quarters, and wait. What’s so hard?”

Michael shrugged. He had plans. Plans that were being ruined by laundry day. Maria’s idea. “Why couldn’t we wait until tomorrow or this weekend?”

“Because … we can’t. Michael, things are desperate. You have no t-shirts left for me to steal. All my clothes are dirty, and I have nothing to wear.”

Michael gave Maria a blank stare. He really couldn’t see the problem. So she wears nothing. Worked for him.

Maria threw up her hands. “Fine. I’m going home. Mom’s there, and I bet my laundry is done.” Michael’s snaked out to circle Maria’s body back to him. He didn’t want her to go home. It was nice to have Amy back, but …

“Not so fast. We’re doing laundry here,” Michael pointed out.

Maria kissed him hard, then not so hard as the kiss gentled and became something more romantic. “I know you would rather spend the evening on the sofa watching TV and screwing around, but we’ve been doing that for weeks and weeks. I barely make it to school, and we’re not even getting laundry, groceries, cleaning the apartment, or anything done.”

“I don’t have a problem with it.”

“I know you don’t, but I do.” Maria wrapped her arms around his neck. “We’re moving in a couple of weeks, or supposedly we are, but we still haven’t decided on the coast, east or west. And …”

“ Dallas .” Michael said as he leaned back against a gyrating washer plastering her to his front, his mouth nibbling at her neck.

“What?”

“ Dallas . Then we could watch the Dallas Stars hockey team.”

“How ‘bout Colorado ? The Avalanche? Are you seriously suggesting we choose our new home based on their local hockey teams?”

“It’s essential to my good mental health.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Or …” Michael cleared his throat, “there is the possibility of Seattle . It has a huge music scene, close enough to Vancouver to make trips there possible, and you could do your music.”

“ Washington Capitals?”

“Now … don’t get nasty, they are a Eastern division. I was thinking more of the Canucks. Oilers. Better chance of seeing the Flames.”

Maria laughed kissing him. “Is there a reason we’re sticking to the west?”

“No.” Michael lied easily. So what if he didn’t want her on the same coast as Billy the Bard or his alien look-alike Rath, who might or might not be dead? Roswell had Brody and the freaky manifestations of Larek. The west coast looked so much better … being alien free, except for Kal who was a human wannabe.

So, Seattle?”

“Yeah.” Michael breathed easier. “First we stop in Vegas to amass some major scratch, and then we go make a place for ourselves.”

“Together?”

“Always.”

~~~

Maria listened as Liz told her about her vision about a woman dying in a mugging, and how she and Max stopped it, saving the woman’s life. Maria listened, but kept getting distracted by Michael behind the grill, who at times held up a sign that said ‘ Seattle ’ at her. She swallowed a smile. Seattle . It had possibilities.

“So, you're clairvoyant now?” Maria asked as she put the finishing touches on her order.

“I'm not clairvoyant. It only happened once.”

“All right, do you think you can tell me if Michael’s wish to move to Seattle is a good place for us?” The two of them were standing at the pass-through, waiting for their orders. Michael put more plates up under the heater seeing them looking at him. He frowned shaking his head. Returning to the grill, he decided not to get involved in the girly talk.

“ Seattle ?” Liz repeated softly, not realizing it was so soon that Michael and Maria were planning on taking off.

“Michael already gave notice to his landlord. We have the apartment for three weeks past graduation. I already started to pack things. We’re storing them at my house, since my mom is still looking for a buyer for the house. It will be safe there until we can get settled and come back for it.”

“I guess I knew you and Michael were making plans, but I never thought about it really happening … you know.”

“Don’t worry, Liz. We’re not going to just disappear. You’ll go to college, and Michael and I will find a new home, and we’ll all keep in touch.”

“Yeah, of course we will.” Liz said not so convinced.

Things were changing fast. Isabel and Jesse were looking at moving to Boston . Jesse got a new job offer with lots of money, and things were looking better for the married couple. Her plans would solidify once she heard from Northwestern. She had been wait listed due to the lateness of her application, and Harvard was definitely out. It had been a hard few weeks as more and more of their graduating class got their acceptance letters, and she was still waiting.

Maria and Liz were both carrying their orders into the dining area. Liz passed by Kyle and stopped. Her nose scrunched up as she made a face. “What have you been doing?”

“It's called ‘workin' for the man’ …” Kyle explained.

“In a sewer?” Liz guessed.

“Close. 'Been flushing septic lines for a 1975 RV …” Kyle stopped talking when Mr. Parker came into the room holding up a letter.

“From Northwestern University.” Liz stared at the letter, not moving. Her future. She had so many plans in her life, so many she lost or gave up, and over the years she almost ruined her chances at ever getting this far. That small white envelope was thin … to thin to hold the rest of her life.

“An acceptance letter?” Kyle asked.

“Well, either that or a dig letter.” Liz said. Suddenly the order bell rang. Liz and her Dad both turned to give Michael a look.

“Sorry.” Michael said making a face. “Your orbit rings are ready.”

Liz's dad took a deep breath and handed the letter to Liz. As she reached to take it, she touched his hand and had another flash - she saw it was an acceptance letter. “I've been accepted!” Liz screamed, excited.

Mr. Parker gave a small laugh. “You haven't even opened it yet …!”

Liz realized her mistake and looked cautiously at her dad, then opened the letter. She read it quickly trying to mustard a little of her initial reaction. “I did, I got in!”

“Ha! Wha-ho-hoo!” Jeff gave his daughter a big hug. She was laughing and smiling. Maria looked on next to Michael at the order window, both of them watching.

Michael glanced at Maria. “So it’s okay for us to leave now?”

“Yeah, now it’s okay,” said Maria. Lines met for a while, traveled together in a parallel destiny, but at times those lines diverted, and that was okay. Maria turned to look at Michael smiling. “Yeah, I’m ready to go.” Michael passed Maria a plate of fries. “I made these just for you.”

Kyle watched Liz and her father slowly clapping his hands, with a strained smile. Talking aloud to himself, “I gotta do something with my life …”

~~~

Kyle invited his boss, Sonny to lunch at the Crashdown. Giving his future a lot of thought, he finally had a plan. “Anyway, thanks for taking this meeting.”

“Meeting? You just said you were springin' for lunch.

“Right. But … I thought we could talk a little …”

“Are you gonna complain?” Sonny asked. “Look, trailer sewage is part of the job, buddy,” he gave a little laugh.

“It's not about that. It's just … that I've - I've actually … I've been thinking about my future.”

“Oh, so it's a money thing. Well, look, all the salaries are frozen. You watch TV? I mean, we're in the middle of a recession, I can’t be doling out money just like …”

“No, no, it's not that, it's not that, it's not that, not that … don't worry about it. Kyle quickly reassured his boss, as Jim came in and saw Kyle and his boss in earnest conversation. He stopped and listened. “Umm, I think that I have a lot to offer. Maybe we could expand … maybe even one day open up a new, uh … garage.” Kyle warmed on his subject. “Anyway, I was just … I was wondering if you would consider … taking on a partner.”

“Partner?” Sonny scoffed, taking it as a huge joke. “Look, I'm sorry, but that's not the way things work. You're a kid. You're not even my mechanic. You're an assistant.”

Kyle sighed disappointed. “Yeah, you're right. Let's just drop it.”

“Partner...” Sonny laughed. “Sounds a little crazy …” Without saying anything or making himself known, Jim Valenti walked away.

~~~

At a motel in Roswell , three men were meeting. One was an Air Force General, the other two were in plain clothes.

The first plain clothes man put in a video tape and played it. “One of my men picked this out of the rubble a couple of nights ago.” It was the tape of Isabel surrounded by a whirlwind of flying objects.

General watched in fascination. “Is she the … thing that destroyed our base?”

“Possibly.”

The second agent shrugged. “There are several candidates.”

General was restrained, but angry. “Can the Special Unit deal with this?”

“The Special Unit no longer exists,” said the second man.

His partner smiled. “Neither does this meeting …”

The General smiled back. “Right.”

“However, the members of the unit do remain in contact with one another.” The second agent confessed, his eyes had a special gleam.

“Then you can take care of this …?” The General asked, standing.

“That's why you contacted us isn't it, General?”

The General watched the tape for a moment. “We lost a lot of good people at Rogers ,” he said turning to face the other men. “I don't want it to happen again.”

The first agent reassured the General. “When this is over … these creatures will never bother anyone ever again.”

~~~

Liz and Max were borrowing Michael’s apartment while Michael and Maria were out.

“Where are Michael and Maria?” Liz asked between kisses.

“Out.”

“Out?” Liz stopped for a moment. “Do they know we’re here? Exactly where is out?”

“Dinner.” Max said between kisses. “Maria’s mom was cooking.”

“Okay. Do they know …”

“Technically, no … but Michael won’t mind.”

“Max...” said Liz, not so sure.

“Congratulations …” Max said between kisses wanting to get off the subject of Michael and Maria. He was still at his parent’s house, and Liz’s parent’s house was off limits, so other than the Cheville …

“You said that already.” Liz reminded him. They continued a long winded session of kissing, talking, kissing, talking, promises of going further, until as they kissed, Liz suddenly had flashes of Max, Isabel, Michael, and herself being shot. She sat up with a start, gasping. Max looked at her, concerned.

“What?”

Liz gasped. “We're all going to be killed.”

~~~

“Did you mark the boxes correctly?” Maria asked as she taped another box.

“Correctly?” Michael made a face. “I thought we were coming to dinner, not packing up the house.”

“She made you lasagna.” Maria pointed out as she hefted another box into a group. “Remember, our boxes have to have M&M on them, so Mom knows they come to us, and hers has A&S on it.”

“Right.” Michael moved more boxes into a group. “How much more crap of yours is in the house anyway?”

“You do not want to know.”

“Great.”

“Hey, don’t make fun. For a guy who had nothing, and only lived emancipated for two years, you already have twenty-eight boxes alone. We haven’t even begun packing up the kitchen or anything else.”

Michael frowned at all the accumulated boxes of stuff. “Maybe we should just leave all our stuff with your mom, and hit the road with just the bare minimum. You know do the whole young and on the road thing?”

“Whatever you want, Spaceboy,” said Maria kissing him softly before walking around him. “I’m easy.”

Michael snorted. “Easy? After three years? Easy you are not.”

“That’s not the kind of easy I was talking about, but I have reformed … lucky you.”

Michael smiled, “Lucky me.”

“Why are you lucky?” Amy asked when she came into the garage.

“Nothing!” Michael and Maria chorused.

“Uh-huh.” Amy smiled at Maria. “Upstairs. Attic. You have to go through the old trunks. I need you to decide what you want, and what you’re leaving behind. Most of it was given to you by your grandmother.”

“Today? Right now?”

“Time is short.” Amy pointed out. “I’m leaving later this evening to go back to Las Cruces . Just for two days or so. I’ll be back before graduation.”

“What’s up, Mom?”

“Delivery problem. I need to send Sean to Phoenix , so I need to cover the shop.” Amy explained. “Have the two of you decided on a city?”

“ Seattle .” Michael told her. “It rains too much, but there’s a great music scene. And hockey’s not far away.”

“ Seattle ? That is so far away.” Amy said more to herself. She was hoping Albuquerque , or some place closer. “Well, I guess I’ll have to plan vacations.”

Maria laughed and hugged her mother quickly before going to check out the attic. Michael watched her go. “I should go help her, or I’ll end up carting boxes with every stuffed animal she ever owned.”

“You will.” Amy looked at Michael. “Did you ask her?”

“Not yet.” Michael cleared his throat. “I … there’s something I need to do first, and I’m having a hard time doing it. Can I get back to you on it?”

“Yes. It’s a big step, so take your time …” Amy stopped on her way out of the garage. “Just not too long.”

“Right.”

Amy frowned on her way out of the door. “Did you mark the boxes correctly?”

~~~

Michael and Maria entered the apartment to find it overflowing with people. Everyone was there, Jim, Kyle, Isabel, Jesse, Max and Liz. Michael scowled in disgust. Why always his apartment? Why not the Ramirez or Valenti households? They had gotten a call from Max telling him to meet them and as soon as they saw Amy off, they headed home.

Listening as Max and Liz shared what just happened, Michael frowned even more as Maria’s hand tightened in his and she moved closer.

“It was terrible.” Liz told them. “We were all killed, I saw it.”

Maria cleared her throat. “‘All’, as in everybody?”

“Max, Isabel, Michael, and ... me.” Liz said crossing the room to stand by Max.

“That is hardly ‘all’, Liz, considering it’s only half of us.” Michael pointed out. “I dream we all get whacked every other night. Why the meeting?”

“Liz has started to have premonitions … from … touching people.” Max explained as Liz acted self-conscious. “Um … she saw a woman about to be killed in an armed robbery. We followed them, and we were able to stop it.”

Jesse didn’t like the sound of this. “You believe it? You think this could really happen?”

“I think we should all take this seriously …” Max admitted.

“Okay, so, where do we get popped, when do we get popped, and who pops us?” Michael asked, not knowing if he wanted to take this seriously or not. His life was finally coming together, and another alien crisis wasn’t something he wanted to deal with.

“I don't know.” Liz confessed. “The flashes were sort of impressionistic.”

Jim shared a look with Jesse. “We need more information.”

“Where were you?” Isabel asked. “Where were you when you had the flashes?”

Max grimaced. “Here.”

“Here?” Michael repeated, his eyes narrowing.

Kyle didn’t notice the interaction between the two aliens. “You said you got these flashes from touching people.”

“We were--  … I was … 'touching people' …” Liz rolled her eyes, embarrassed, as the others get the picture.

“How … cozy.” Maria said with not a little amusement, knowing exactly what Michael’s reaction would be.

Isabel, sharing Maria’s amusement, tried not to smile. “I … think we should just focus on what we do next.”

“Right. We should all stay on guard.” Max said quickly, happy to let that subject drop, hoping Michael would as well. “Ah … Liz and I will attempt to … ah …” Max stopped as both he and Liz turned red.

Kyle snickered. “Achieve another flash?”

Max shrugged, more than a little self-conscious himself. “It seems like the thing to do …”

“We’re happy for you, Maxwell, maybe finally getting laid and all, but I suggest you find other quarters to rut around in. My home, for the next few weeks that I still have the lease on it, is not Roswell ’s mating den. Try the backseat of the Cheville.”

“Michael...,” Maria admonished, seeing Liz’s embarrassed face.

“You weren’t home.” Max pointed out.

“Yeah, and I’m sure I can picture it in my head. Kiss. Talk. Simper. Kiss. Talk. Talk. Mugging it up suggestively with promises of getting lucky, and … bam! Flash. Yeah, do it on Isabel’s sofa.”

“Um, actually that wouldn’t be convenient …” both Isabel and Jesse said at the same time.

Maria wanting to get this over with, and take Michael away before he really got indiscrete, interrupted. “So … I, ah … I take it I have no homework, right?” Maria asked Max and the others who shook their heads no. “Okay.” Maria turned and gave Michael a look. “So, uh, I gotta speak to you, Spaceboy.”

Michael nodded walking over to his door and opening it, rudely inviting everyone to scram, especially Max and Liz. He gave them a hard long look as they went through the door.

“Did you have to do that?”

“Yes.” Michael voice was cold and hard. “This is the third time I can count that Max just barged into the apartment since I kicked him out. He has a home. She has a home. Why is he making dates with her here? In our home, without even bothering to ask or call … anything?”

“He’s not the king, Michael.”

“Yeah, sure he isn’t. It doesn’t matter, Maria. It’s in his skin. He can rescind it a thousand times and he’ll still think of himself as the king. How many times has he announced he’s no longer the king, not realizing that on this planet … he never was?”

“You’re upset.” Maria said, realizing that this wasn’t about Max and Liz using their place, but something more. “You’re worried about me.”

“She didn’t see you dead, Maria, but then where the hell were you? I know … that you would’ve been with me. Are they just going to leave a witness behind?”

“Michael …” Maria didn’t want to hear this.

“I’m dangerous. Being near me is dangerous for you. I can’t … I don’t want to think of what could happen to you because of me.”

“And then that’s it? I have no input? No say?”

Michael grabbed her, holding her still. “What do you want me to hear, Maria? What do you want to say? That this isn’t something to worry about, or that you’ll be okay, because I don’t know that … you don’t know that.”

Maria rested her head on his chest for a moment. “Come with me to Madam Vivian’s tomorrow, first thing in the morning.”

Michael made a sound of disgust. “Madam Vivian’s! Dammit, Maria, hasn’t that hag caused us enough trouble?”

‘She’s not a hag. She was right about you … a volatile man who looks to the stars. She was right when she told you that you were going nowhere, that what you were looking for … you already found.” Maria paled a bit moving away from him. “Or maybe she was wrong, and I’m presuming too much … that you and me, that you want …”

Michael stopped her. “We’ll go to Madam Vivian’s.”

~~~

The next morning at Madam Vivian’s, Michael and Maria sat together across from the woman, Maria hopeful, and Michael irritated.

“So, what do you want out of this relationship? I mean, where do each of you see yourselves … say, five years from now?” the woman asked them, confused about why they were there when all their stars were aligned together, and they were obviously both aware and wanting this relationship.

“The current theory is, I'm gonna to be dust.” Michael explained.

“’Dust'?” The woman searched the cards. There was indeed a blemish, a cloud on the horizon.

“Dead. Kaput. Finito, Michelito.” Michael explained spelling it out as plainly as he could. Madame Vivian stared at Michael, puzzled and concerned. “No offense, but could we get to the part where you take out your crystal ball an' … I wanna get back in time for WWF.” It wasn’t like he had too many days left to keep up with the current sports.

“I apologize for him.” Maria told the woman. “Michael, please, I really just … I need for you to try 'n help me figure this out, alright?”

“What’s to figure out, Maria? Everything we worked towards is coming to an end, even before we got a chance to really live. I don’t like it, but there it is. She can’t change what’s going to happen.”

“We don’t know that. You don’t know that. Stop assuming that it’s going to go bad. It can … we can change it. I know …” Michael’s face shut down, and Maria watched with an increasing feeling of doom. She knew him. She had reason to know him. Three years, and one thing remained constant … Michael. He made changes, but who he was inside always remained true. He protected those he loved, at all cost … even his own life, his own happiness. She didn’t say anything to him, but her eyes were pleading him to reconsider.

The two of them looked over to see Madame Vivian staring at them.

Maria sniffed. “Um … I apologize. I … I … um … See? It’s hopeless. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“Maria … would you mind if I speak to Michael alone for a few minutes?”

“Why …” Maria looked between the two. “I wanna hear everything you have to say, though …”

“This is not just about you and Michael. This is … much bigger than your relationship. This is about Michael and him leaving.”

Maria took the slap hard, her face paling “...of course it is. Everything always is, isn't it?” She stood up, squaring her shoulders. “Okay.”

Michael looked skeptically at Madame Vivian as Maria left. He wanted to follow her, to tell her that she was important to him, that their relationship was the only thing important, but glancing at the woman, he realized that she knew he was already gone. He was leaving.

“Michael. Something bad is about to happen.” She turned over cards as he frowned at her skeptically. “Very bad. And there's only one way to keep it from happening. You must believe in the love.” Madam Vivian looked at the young man whose aura held a strange glint to it, a golden hue, and over the years she saw it change slightly, saw it extend to include Maria until their combined auras radiated the same color. “Instinct will save you, but a lifetime of conditioning can also be a burden, then maybe it is time to change … to reach for more. There is doing what is right, and doing what you can live with. This is about living, Michael. You must believe in love to survive.”

“'Believe in the love.' I have no idea what that means.” Maria? Believe in her? What? Michael was confused.

“I know you don't. But try to. It could save your life. And others.” The woman touched his hand. “It can help to define the course of your life.”

“I think you're a fraud.”

Madame Vivian pulled up a card dramatically and held it out towards Michael. “Yes, I know. That is okay, because it is not in me that you must trust and believe … but yourself. A union forged in gold, the rings are strong, but merely symbolic of what is already created … and those are the ties that bind … inside.” She handed Michael the card. “So you don't forget.”

Michael stared at the card, then took it reluctantly. It was entitled The Lovers. Michael started to leave, but Madam Vivian called him back. “Michael, send me Maria. It is the last time I will be able to speak to her, and there are things to say.” Michael’s eyes penetrated Madam Vivian’s and his blood ran cold. She was earnest in her belief that never again would she ever counsel Maria. This was bad.

Maria was outside in the waiting room, clearly upset, and Michael’s initial reaction was to take her … to leave without letting Madam Vivian screw up what was looking to be an impossible situation even more. He sent her in anyway as he paced the floor, staring at the damn card, worried what was being said in there.

“Maria, sit.”

“What? What did you tell, Michael?”

“Only what he already knows … only what he needs. A leopard is more than just the spots he wears, but even a leopard can’t stop being what he is … but he can be more.”

“I don’t …”

“I know. It is not for you to understand.” Madam Vivian took Maria’s hand. “You’re afraid … always looking for that moment when something so perfect ends. It is you, Maria … you that really leaves. You are so certain that they are leaving, that you let go even before you hold on. This time … don’t. Trust. Wait. Believe in love, and it will show you the path. It will lead you home.”

When Maria left the room, she was gray and looked sick. Swearing, Michael took her arm and led her from the place.

“Come on, she's a flake.” He consoled her. “Let's go.”

“I …” Maria gulped the fresh air hard, barely holding back a sob. “Is she right? Am I the one that pushes away … all of them? Sean, my mom, you, Liz …oh god, Alex? Am I that much of a coward that I …”

“Shut up!” Michael used his powers to explode a clay pot sitting on the front step. Maria jumped, startled, the action pulling her out of her own thoughts. “Stop it! It’s not your fault! You don’t …” Michael ran a hand through his hair, uncertain how to fix this, how to fix the damage done. “Maria,” he said holding her face. “You’re not pushing me away. Don’t believe her. She’s screwing with your head again! Smoke and mirrors, Maria. Anything … any phrase can be made to mean something, if you really think about it hard enough.”

Maria nodded, unhappy, but she looked at him, and suddenly she was in his arms holding him tight while he held her close, his head bending to talk to her in low, soothing words that would have meant nothing to anyone but them.

Unknowingly, they were photographed. The Special Unit men had taken photos of Michael using his powers, and more pictures of him with Maria. In a room, the photos of Michael using his powers were spread out on a table with other pictures of Michael talking to Max, Isabel walking down a hall. The pictures were studied closely.

~~~

Max and Liz were lying together on Liz's bed, kissing and making out, trying to spark another one of Liz's prescient flashes. They were doing their usual version of making out, a constant task of kissing and talking, talking, talking, kissing and talking. Finally, Liz had a premonition. It was the same as before with a slight variation. Liz’s flash was of them being killed, and more … a man at a podium, speaking.

Max noted her pause, pulling back waiting for her to talk again, but the look on her face was different. “Did you see something?”

“I saw you get killed again,” she said, but her brow was wrinkled in thought. “Oh, wait, wait a second, there was someone there. I've seen him before …”

“Who was it?”

Liz went to her dresser, sorts through some things for a book. “That face! I know I've seen that face before … Where is that …? This is the guy. He was there the moment that you got … the moment that you got killed. I mean … he was giving a speech or something.” Liz brought the book back over to show the author's picture to Max.

“Bryce McCain?” Max stared at the man’s picture. “He's going to be the guest of honor at the UFO convention.” Max told Liz. “We die June 12th.”

“That's less than two weeks.”

“We have twelve days to figure out how to stop it.”

~~~

The group all gathered near the ruins of the pod chamber - Max and Liz, Michael and Maria, Isabel and Jesse, Kyle and Jim.

“So, who's this Bryce McCain?” Michael asked, his arms holding Maria to his front.

Liz answered for Max. “He's a science fiction novelist, and he'll be at the UFO convention.”

“So we have less than two weeks before we're all killed.” Max said.

“God …” Maria said as Michael tightened his hold on her. “How does this happen? And why now?”

“Well, it probably has something to do with Tess destroying the base.” Liz concluded. It wasn’t hard to imagine that if an alien destroyed an entire base, and all those working on it, the government might take notice.

“Maybe they found your mom's video tape,” Michael told Max and Isabel.

Isabel’s face turned red. “So, what, now it's my fault?”

“I'm just saying they put it together pretty quick,” Michael pointed out, feeling it was a little mealymouthed of Isabel to feel upset at being held accountable for her actions when she and Max spent a lifetime railing on him about his, the most recent one being when he moved the trees aside for his golf shot, and Jesse’s ex-friend saw him.

Jesse quickly interrupted the two before they came to blows, and it dissolved in a full fight. “Look, it's not going to help to point fingers, okay?”

“He's right.” Jim said agreeing with Jesse, the two adult men taking a higher ground than the teenagers. “We need to come up with a plan as a team.”

“A team?” Michael laughed bitterly. Again! Their lives were in danger … exposed, and it always came back to the same place. His life was about to suck, and this time he had too much to lose … too much he loved. “Look at us. It's ridiculous.”

“Michael, you're not helping …” Maria said to him softly, her hand on his arm squeezing him.

“She's right.” Max said appreciating that Maria spoke up since she was the only one that could admonish Michael without it coming off wrong.

“Okay, fine, then, help.” Michael invited Max, dropping his arms around Maria, to take her hand, more than willing to leave if Max had nothing. “What's the plan?”

They all looked towards Max, who sat on the ground with Liz. He gave no answer for a moment, staring grimly off into nothing. Finally, he shook his head. “I won't make this decision for everyone. I'm giving up the throne.” He missed the incredulous look that Maria and Michael shared, and the snort of derision from Kyle. What damn throne? Max rose addressing Michael and Isabel. “I'm not a king. And you're not my second in command. And you're not a princess. We're just fighting for our lives.”

“Well, then, we need to start planning on how to fight back.” Isabel suggested, not understanding why the others weren’t impressed with Max stepping down.

“I've got a better idea. Why don't we get outta Dodge before they land on us? We leave.” Michael suggested.

Kyle frowned. “… and where do we go?”

“Anywhere but here. I mean, let's face it … they know who we are. It's over.” Michael reasoned. “We leave Roswell , we leave fast, and we leave as quietly as we can. We all go separately.” He looked down at Maria, troubled.

“Separately?” Maria repeated.

“Right now we're safer as individuals than we are as a group. I mean, what are we all gonna do if we go together? Get a van?” Michael shook his head. “It wouldn’t work. We’d be a large target. We go quietly into the night, each of us on our own … if they get some of us, maybe they don't get all of us.”

“Wait a minute.” Jim slowed down Michael’s thinking. “We all go?”

“Right now, the only ones in danger, according to the crystal ball here...,” Michael said nodding towards Liz, “are … me, Max, Isabel, and Liz. So, the rest of you are safe. You can stay here.”

Maria stood away from Michael, nodding, she walked away from him, from the others into the desert, not really part of the group any longer. She walked off leaving Michael at a loss. He started to call after her.

“Hey...” Liz said to Michael. “Let me.” She walked off to catch up with Maria.

“If we're going to go, we shouldn't hesitate.” Max told the others. “We should start leaving right after graduation. One at a time. And we don't look back.” The three aliens stood together, leaving Jesse, Kyle, and Jim standing a short distance away from them.

~~~

Liz tried to catch up to Maria, who was still walking away.

“Maria …”

“What?” Maria snarled, her voice hollow and distant.

“No, wait! Wait - Maria, what is your problem? What's your problem?”

“I …” Maria was lost for words. “I can’t change a leopard, and I can’t push away first. What if I’m doing it, and I don’t even know?”

“What?” Liz shook her head. Maria was so different. The last few weeks, her and Michael had become an unbreakable unit, and they were so far off from the others. “I … what?”

“I don’t know, Liz. I have to wait. I just know that I need to wait for love.”

“Maria, you and Michael … you already have plans to leave, and …”

“That doesn’t matter now. Michael has to decide. He’ll never risk me, and I have to wait … I need to wait, to believe in him, trust that he will be who he must be.”

“I don’t get that! Tell him to take you with him! Tell him …”

“I can’t. I can’t push. I need him to decide. It’s important.” Maria wiped a tear away. “I love him! He’s more than my lover … he’s my best friend, but I’ve never asked him to be anything but who he is. I have to respect that.” She looked down at her feet. “I feel that I waited a lifetime for him to leave, and somehow these past few weeks, I forgot. I started to believe that we … that we …” She choked back the word ‘forever’, the one Michael gave her. She looked at Liz. “Am I pushing him away before he can do it? You can see the future, Liz. Tell me! Tell me what to do. I tell myself to wait, but what if I do, and he …? God! Help me decide!”

“Maria, Maria … Maria, listen to me. You've gotta stop!” Liz took Maria's face in her hands, smoothing her hair. “Okay? Who knows? Alright? I can see the future … and I have no idea. Look, maybe you just … you need to try and decide what you want, and then go get it. Okay?” Liz kissed Maria on the forehead, then hugged her.

~~~

Kyle and his father walked back to their truck. “So, I guess we stay here, huh?” Jim said to his son.

“Yeah. This'll be fun. We can take bets on when they're going to repossess our house.” Kyle said dryly.

“I made a call on your behalf.”

Kyle stopped looking at his father. “What're you talkin' about?” Jim handed Kyle a badge. “What's this?”

Jim smiled proudly. “Deputy's badge. Sheriff Hanson wants to give you a shot in the Sheriff's office.”

Kyle stared at the piece of tin that represented everything he hated. “Dad. This is the last thing I wanna do with my life. Being a cop like you and grandpa, that's my worst nightmare.”

“Hey, you can do whatever the hell you want, but this badge is an honor. And being a law enforcement officer is not a nightmare, it's a dream!”

“It's your dream!” Kyle told his father, shaking his head. His dad was a great man, but he missed the obvious. “And why the hell are you callin' in favors to get me a badge, anyway, when all this time you haven't lifted a finger to get your own badge back?” Kyle pushed the badge back to his father, and Jim stopped, in grim thought for a moment.

~~~

Jesse and Isabel talked as they prepared to get in their car. “I'll call Boston and tell them to give the job to someone else.”

“No.” Isabel told him breathing deeply. “Take the job. We'll go to Boston . We'll figure out a way. I'm just not gonna let this stop us anymore.”

Jesse looked at his wife. “Isabel, are you sure?”

Isabel nodded smiling. “Yes. Take the job.” She had been afraid her entire life. She didn’t want to be afraid anymore. Jesse smiled and kissed Isabel, and they hugged.

Isabel smiled at Jesse, before going around the car, speaking under her breath. “I can’t believe it's all ending this way.”

~~~

Max leaned against his convertible, watching Isabel with Jesse, then he looked over to see Michael on his motorcycle. Their eyes met for a moment and Max started toward Michael, but then hesitated. Michael got off his bike and walked toward Max stopping as he saw Maria and Liz coming back.

“Well, I'm not graduating, so I guess I'll be the first to leave,” Michael told Max, knowing Maria and the other heard him.

Max walked towards Michael. “Michael, look …”

“Ah, I'm travelin' light, most of the apartment is packed up, but it is paid up for a few more weeks, so you can use it.”

“I know things between us have been a little, uh …”

“Yeah, well, Maxwell, don't … 'cause ... I can’t.”

Max drew Michael into an embrace and they held each other for a long moment, surrounded at a distance by Maria, Liz, Kyle and Jim, Jesse and Isabel. Michael stepped back and went to his bike, he mounted it and turn to look at Maria. Holding out his hand, he waited for her to come to him. The others watched as Michael and Maria left first.

Maria held on to Michael, she rested with her head on his back. When he pulled up to her house, she gave him back her helmet, leaning into him, they kissed passionately. He rested his forehead to hers. “I need to go pack, do a few things. Stay here. Be safe, and I’ll be back.” Maria nodded, stepping away from him, she watched as he left.

~~~

At the motel, the two Special Unit men detained the woman whose life Liz and Max saved. She was sitting at a table covered with surveillance photos of the aliens and their friends and family. They were detaining her until she identified the two that saved her. Finally under duress, the woman pointed to Max and Liz. The first agent sorted the stack of photos. As he selected certain ones, he had a collection of photos of Michael and Max arguing, of Max and Liz together playing miniature golf, of Isabel and her father at the restaurant where she met with Jesse, and of Maria. He blocked them together into four final photos: Michael, Max, Isabel, and Liz.

“These four. This is everyone. Now we can move.” He told his partner.

“Where?”

“Some place where they're all together. Indoors. A facility we can lock down. Someplace where they won't expect it to happen.”

~~~

Maria sat in her house, too numb to move. She sat in the dark waiting … she waited all night, and part of the day, watching as daybreak lightened the world around her. It was hard when all she wanted to do was run, but she stayed. It was the sound of Michael’s bike that made her go outside. Maria hesitated when she walked out of her door. Michael was sitting out by the curb on his motorcycle. She walked over to him.

“So this is goodbye?”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back, but I had to make some arrangements.” Michael cleared his throat, his eyes moving over Maria. “I wanted to say that this thing has been screwed up from the beginning between you and me. Us. I should’ve acted sooner, not taken so long to tell you … to kiss you.”

“I …” Maria put a hand to her front. “It was me. It was my fault. I was so scared, and I avoided it … everything. I wasted so much time, Michael. So much … I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so afraid, but … I don’t regret a moment of knowing you … of loving you.” Maria didn’t bother to wipe away the tears as they chased each other down her cheek.

“I wouldn't trade of moment of knowing you either, Maria … not for anything. It's meant so much to me, y'know? From day one, from the moment I kidnapped you and stole your car … I knew you were the girl for me. I never wanted anyone else …”

Maria sobbed stepping even closer, her hands needing to touch him. “Michael …”

“I still don't. Just ... Wherever I'm goin', whatever I'm doin', just know I'll always love you.” Michael shook his head. “I kept telling myself to go … to leave you here, safe. That would be the smart thing. The right thing.” He scratched his eyebrow. “But … the thing is, Maria, it’s not something I can live with. The right thing, not risking you, is not something I can live with. I wouldn’t know you anymore. I wouldn’t know how you are or even if you were okay, and I can’t live with that! I can’t live without you.”

Maria held her breath, unwilling to even breathe as he finished.

“I’ve been alone all my life, and until you came into me … I never knew anything but that loneliness. But … now I do. I can’t go back to being that person, I don’t want to.” Michael held out his hand to her. “Don’t think. I’m begging you, Maria, to just take my hand, chase the sun with me forever, and I swear I’ll stand between you and the world before I let any harm come to you.”

Maria ignored his outstretched hand, and rushed straight into his body. Sobbing ‘Yes!’ she kissed him hard as his hands came up to hold her close. He couldn’t stop kissing her. Last night was the hardest of his life, but he had to go through with it. Every moment away from her, he was afraid he would find her gone.

“I thought …” Maria said huskily, “I thought you’d leave me, for my own protection. I was so sure.”

“You’re right. I was going to … it would’ve been the right thing to do.”

“Then why?” Maria stared into his golden brown eyes.

Michael held up the card of The Lovers. “Trust in love. I don’t believe in much, Maria, but I’ve always believed in you. You’re the only thing on this Earth that I’ve loved unconditionally, and I can’t see that ever changing.” Michael handed her her helmet. “C’mon, we’ve got miles to go before we sleep.”

Maria smiled. Getting on the bike, she put on the helmet and rested against him as they headed west, chasing the sun.

~~~

Michael felt the shock in Maria’s body as they drove up to the small chapel in Las Cruces and she saw her mother and Sean waiting. Michael got off the bike, and held out a hand to her. “Don’t worry. I haven’t gone insane.” Michael cleared his throat. “The thing I had to do last night was your mother. I had to come here and tell her the truth.”

“The truth?”

Michael nodded. “Everything, Maria. I told her about myself, about who and what I am, and why I’m taking her daughter away, maybe forever. I had to. I’ve been meaning to tell her for a while now, ever since I planned to ask you to marry me.”

“Marry you?” Maria’s heart stopped in her throat, and breathing was impossible.

“Yeah. I know I’m doing this all wrong. I had so many scenarios in my head to create the perfect moment. Cheryl and Steve helped me.” Michael confessed. “Things got crazy, and …” Michael pulled a jeweler’s box out of his pocket. He opened it up and showed her the matching wedding rings.

“Michael,” Maria cleared her throat from the unnatural squeak. “I … how long?”

“How long have I planned to ask you?” Maria nodded. “Since I took the job at Meta-Chem. I used my first dozen paychecks to pay for these. I mean … I knew I could just make them with my powers, but I wanted it to mean something … from me to you. You know … something I worked hard for, so you knew that it meant something to me.” Michael stared at the rings of gold. “Truthfully, I knew I was going to marry you the moment I walked out the pod chamber that day, to stay on Earth, and you were there waiting to step in my arms. I never felt home before that moment, and I knew without you … I would never feel home again.”

Maria’s eyes were misty as she stared at him. He was so familiar to her, but then he did something so unexpected, that he took her breath away. “Sean and my mom?”

Michael glanced over at his future in-laws. “I’m taking her daughter away. I couldn’t do that, and steal this important moment from her. I already wrecked graduation, so …”

“So you thought she should be here when we marry.”

Michael stepped closer to her, framing her face he tilted her head to him. “It’s not just for you, Maria. They mean something to me too. Family. I haven’t had that in so long, or even in my living memory, but you gave me that.”

Maria kissed him when his head bent, and whispering to him, she said, “So, we’re getting married?”

“Yeah, if you’ll have me.”

“Oh, I’ll have you, but you could ask,” she suggested, tongue in cheek.

Michael blinked twice. Taking her hand, he pulled her along with him. “We’re getting married,” he stated.

Maria laughed. Now that was her man, her Michael. “Yes, Commander,” she said softly as they joined her mother and Sean.

~~~

Sean handed his aunt another Kleenex. “You gonna be okay?”

“No. Soon. In a little while, I’ll be okay.” Amy gave her a watery smile. “She made a beautiful bride.”

“Yes.” Sean was quiet, knowing so much more than he knew over twenty-four hours ago. “Aliens. It seems so strange. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes …”

“I should’ve known,” Amy confessed. She sniffed wiping the moisture from under her eyes. Her goodbye with her daughter had been emotional, after the wedding they all went out to eat, and it took everything in her body to let Maria go that one last time.

“How? His hair?”

Amy laughed. “No. Madam Vivian. She told me when Maria was young, oh … just under six years old, that her lifeline ran in parallel with another … a commanding presence had awakened … her destiny, and that she would only be mine for a limited time. I obsessed for years that that meant she would die young, until the day I found Michael Guerin sleeping in her bed. That horrible moment, I understood that she carried two lifelines. Hers and his. It was terrible to realize in that moment, that I had spent over ten years waiting for him to appear, and now..., there he was.”

“You believe all they told us?”

Amy smiled, and nodded. “Oh yes. I lived it.”

“We’ll see them again.” Sean promised. So much of what happened that night at the UFO Center was finally making sense.

Amy smiled slowly, the tears still glistening in her eyes. “Oh, of that, I’m sure. I trust Michael to find a way.”

~~~

It was like a game. The flickering shadows on the walls and ceilings were cast there from the firelight. Sinking deeper into him, Maria moaned softly at the sensation of being held, feeling protected, and belonging as his large hand rested like a mitt across her stomach, holding her to him.

It wasn’t cold, but the fire gave a nice surrounding heat to the rustic cabin taking the bite of damp in the air from the lake, as the darkness of the enveloping woods cocooned them into their own world. The crackling of the fire joined the sounds of rustling sheets and soft moans as his hands cupped her from behind as he spooned up to her, molding his body to hers. Michael’s mouth moved slowly long the soft skin of her throat as his one hand cupped her breast and the hand on her stomach dropped lower, touching her intimately as she hissed a ‘yes’ encouraging him to touch her.

Maria’s one arm went up to reach behind her, to circle his head, holding him to her neck as his teeth nipped at the sensitive muscles of her neck. “Michael...,” she breathed throatily as her body moved sensually against him, opening up to allow his fingers to move deeper into her.

“Thought you were resting,” he whispered in her ear.

“Mmm...” Maria smiled to herself.

They were using a cabin on a lake close to Roswell . The cabin belonged to her mother’s friend, and they arrived eight hours ago in the Jetta and on the bike. They were to leave the Jetta there, and her cousin would retrieve it a week later. Michael had carried her into the cabin slamming the door with his foot, forgetting the groceries in the Jetta or anything else as clothes hit the floor and their mouths merged in a fierce mating frenzy, hands pushing away buttons and clothes both groaning at the instant their hands found flesh.

Four hours later, he emerged from the rustic cabin to unload the Jetta and start a fire while Maria slept. He soon rejoined her in the bed, liking the soft sound she made in her throat in her sleep as his colder skin touched hers. He made love to her again while she slept, waiting for the moment she woke to his touch and turned in his arms demanding more.

Maria turned her head to find him looking at her; watching her, watching the shadows play. His golden brown eyes were dark as he bent to kiss her, a small smile playing at his mouth as Maria audibly gasped, holding her breath in anticipation of the tender contact … the movement of his mouth on hers, that one moment would be a gentle touch of reverence to take off in a wild fire of pure passion. They had dispensed with words so long ago, using tactile expression instead … Michael, so much better with touch than words, taught her his language … the one he knew best.

She knew him now, his touch, his lips, and his eyes. The movement of expression across his face was an elegant soliloquy of love and devotion, one rarely spoken, but immeasurable felt as his emotions played along her spine and feeling him was more than a flash. Anticipating him was becoming a pleasurable game.

After the initial out of control passion, and frantic lovemaking, they later returned again to each other to make love slowly, using the gradual learning of years of foreplay, and intimate knowledge to enhance the nuances of the other’s desires. Maria knew that he liked it when she stroked the fine hair just below his bellybutton following with her mouth and nipping kisses to savor him in her mouth. He knew she found his hands fascinating, in the size and strength, contrasted by their gentle movement on her skin. She constantly admired the contrast between his skin and her own. He liked to touch her hair, weaving his fingers through the golden strands as he cradled her head next to his chest. Maria loved the feel of him wrapped around her, his commanding presence dominating her, and yet gentled i