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 into a protectiveness that took her breath away and sent her heart racing in her chest. Michael loved the feel of her in his mouth, the way she came apart under him with the whispery sounds of her literally praying his name.

Three years of slow mating created a deeper union, giving them a richness of understanding minus shyness of pretension. There was nothing, but each other and the feelings they shared completely. It was the smallest of touches, the tender sweep of feeling that carried the most weight.

Maria framed his face as she pulled back from the kissing panting harshly barely able to catch her breath. “Should I feed you?” she asked hoarsely.

Michael’s eyes darkened. “Yes.” A moan escaped from her when his mouth traveled down and latched onto a nipple. He blended just the right amount of suction with the tender scrape of his tongue. Oh wow!’ in wonder at her reaction to him. There was a rush of wetness between her legs as he moved downward feasting on her as his mouth savored her flesh and the intimate contact took on a new urgency.

Everything she felt for him was reflected in her unguarded face finally free of doubt and confusion to lay it all bare. He loved to watch her, knowing his ministrations were responsible for what he saw there, his heart open to her for the bravery she showed in not trying to hide it. A lifetime of painfully growing up, they both had come full circle to find themselves finally free of so much of their past, and comfortable in surviving what they would never forget.

“Maria … love …” The persistent ringing of a cell phone stopped him short as reality intruding into the safe world they had created. “Who?” Michael asked himself with pained irritation … who would intrude on their honeymoon, a time for them alone? Michael reached over to the bedside table where the cell phone resided and calmly melted it into a nice pile of plastic. It wasn’t like Maria needed her phone any longer. It would only be a way to track them.

“Please,” said Maria pulling him back to her as his attention quickly shifted back to what was important.

~~~

Liz disconnected the phone with a frown on her face.

“No answer?” Max asked.

“No.” Liz tapped the cell phone on her chin. “She’s been missing since the last meeting. She was very upset, but determined to let Michael go … to do what he felt was necessary.”

“Maybe she went to Las Cruces , to her mother’s place.”

“I should call, but what if she’s not there? I don’t want to get her mother all upset. I went by the house, and …”

“Liz, what’s bothering you?” Max asked. “When we stood around talking about leaving, you know that it was only Michael, us and Isabel that was targeted. We talked about leaving forever. When exactly did you think you would ever see Maria again?”

“I don’t know. I mean before, we were going to Northwestern, and Michael and Maria had big plans to move together. I guess I thought we’d keep in contact, that …” Liz rubbed her head. “I guess I didn’t really connect the dots that us leaving meant forever, and I brushed it off as if it was nothing but something between her and Michael. I didn’t think twice about it being about the two of us never seeing each other again.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to wait around to be the one left behind saying goodbye forever?” Max shrugged. “Look, tomorrow night is graduation. She’ll probably be there. You can talk to her then.” Max grabbed her. “Let’s talk about us.”

Liz listened as Max asked her to marry him, as he changed a piece of charcoal from the grill on her balcony into a diamond. It was the most romantic moment of her life, and after graduation, they were leaving to begin their lives together free of all the alien crap that plagued them for years.

~~~

It was raining. The rain started after midnight , and Michael glanced outside at the moon still shining through the clouds despite the rain. Pulling a naked Maria out of bed, they huddled in a blanket and ran together down to the lake. Laughing, Maria pulled him down to sit with her on the end of the pier as the rain softly saturated their blanket and skin as they huddled together for warmth.

The rain on the lake with the shining moonlight beat a path across the expanse of darkened great unknown. It was metaphoric of their lives, stretching out in front of them with tomorrow like the waters holding untold mysteries.

“Somewhere warm, I’m thinking.” Michael told Maria.

“What?”

“We should go somewhere warm. I was thinking tropical with warm nights, sex on the beach, and lots of sunshine.”

“Tropical?” Maria laughed shaking her head. “And, we pay for this how?”

“We hit a few casinos, collect the scratch, and then I say we go someplace like the British Virgin Islands or whatever. Live in the sunshine for a while.”

“We’ve been chasing the sun for a long time,” said Maria remembering all the times that Roswell became too much for them, and they ran away for a moment of freedom.

“I know. I was thinking of a nice long extended honeymoon.”

Kissing him, she giggled at the waterlogged blanket dumping water on him. “How long we talking, Spaceboy?”

Michael’s eyes went serious. “The rest of our lives.”

Maria blinked, her voice caught in her throat, as her eyes became bright. “I … I’d like that.” Maria reached up and framed his face. “I dreamt of you my entire life, even before I knew you. I dreamt of the possibility of you.”

“No dating sweaty high school boys?”

“Nope.” Maria stroked his cheek. “They weren’t you. Why would I settle for less? I was waiting for the extreme.”

Michael kissed her hard, and long holding her head tight as his mouth devoured hers. “I knew I could leave, but not without you, Maria. Never without you.” He felt a trickle of water down his back, and looked at the rain on the lake. “Time to get wet.”

“Michael? Michael …!” Maria saw the look in his eyes and squeaking, she tried to get away from him. It was the sound of her voice screaming his name as she hit the water as he tossed her in to quickly follow.

They played in the water getting drenched in the rain as they sprayed each other laughing. Michael dragged Maria out of the lake, and when he turned to retrieve the wet blanket, she pushed him back in before running off to the cabin. Michael caught her easily, catching her by her elbow.

Maria resisted and tried to pry her elbow out of his hand, but he only held her more firmly the meeting of their eyes knocking the wind from her lungs. He looked wild. Primitive. She could see a part of him that was Michael when he was king. Tomorrow she would have companion bruises on her body. Groaning, Maria kissed him passionately. She loved him a little out of control. She chanced a look up and his face contained the same expression that threw her on the bed and ravished her multiple times earlier that day. Oh. Her hands moved over the cold wet skin, as his mouth nipped at her neck.

Abruptly, Michael loosened his grip on her elbow. Maria opened her mouth in protest wanting his hands back on her. Whatever she was going to say was swallowed when he crushed her to him covering her open mouth with his.

He persuaded her to relax with a series of deep, drugging kisses that stole her strength as she clung to him. Her treacherous body responded immediately, severing all connection to coherent thought.

When he released her mouth holding her even closer she could only murmur, "No fair … no fair …" Maria’s nose thrust into his warm neck, amazed by how good he smelled. Michael took advantage of her distraction to move his mouth open, up her neck, as he tasted her skin. Since his experiences during Enigma, his senses were completely tuned to Maria. He could find her by touch in a dark room full of strangers, smell the scent of her skin from a distance, and if he closed his eyes he could recall the taste of her.

Michael pulled her head back by the hair to give himself better access to her mouth as he sucked, nibbled, and invaded her mouth with his. Slowly, he walked her backwards in to the warm cabin, his foot kicking the door closed again.

As they moved into the room, their hands were not gentle as Michael crushed her to him, mouth and tongue invading … demanding. Without knowing how they got there, he pushed her up against a bare wall.

His hands were moving over her in haste. All the while his mouth was on hers demanding, violently passionate, asking a question for which she had no answer except a deep moan. Maria ran her hands up his ribs over his shoulders touching him everywhere, her flesh to his. He answered the contact with a low growl.

They were rapidly losing connection with the civilized world. Every touch and feel felt primal, locked in sexual conquest, as he marked her as his, and she returned the favor.

Michael’s mouth left hers at last to taste the soft skin of her neck and moving lower to taunt a nipple with his hot mouth. Licking, kissing, and biting her until she cried out from the onslaught. He was doing such a thorough job of slowly moving over her, that Maria became impatient. She did the one thing she knew drove him crazy … she talked. A nice long stream of suggestions in his ear, most of them pretty graphic.

He grasped both wrists with one hand hauling them above her head. With his free arm he slid her up the wall until they were both at eye level. Pausing for a moment, he looked at her. His eyes were no longer their warm golden brown, but darkened to an almost black with passion. They were both breathing heavily as one watched the other.

“You wanted to do this before didn’t you?” Her voice was husky and knowing.

"Yes…" He drew it out in a harsh, grating affirmation. “What does it feel like, Maria? Are you afraid?”

He was in total control and she allowed it. Somehow she knew he needed this, needed to control her in this act because he was unable to get outside of it. There would always be a part of him, an alien part that rose to dominate his actions, and he needed her to understand it, not be afraid. Every action, every touch was an imprinting of him on her, and her to him. He was letting her completely inside, not hiding anything anymore, especially the raging needs that left him weak. Maria moved her hand over his skin watching the range of emotion on his face. They were becoming one person.

“No, I’m not afraid,” she told him quietly her brilliant green eyes meeting his stormy ones. He needed this, a mating. Since his bout as king and the time he drank alcohol, his senses remained heightened. He was slowly and torturously mapping her smell, taste, touch, sounds, and the very sight of her. “You feel like home to me. I feel you like electricity in an approaching storm, and I want to feel you over me … in me, like a saturating rain.”

What she said was the right answer. He growled deep in his throat, and a slight smile moved over his mouth as he took her permission to be himself as permission to push her wherever he wanted to go. There was also something freeing in giving up control to him. When he lifted her up a little more, pinning her to the wall as he penetrated. Maria was lost for a moment in the feelings unable to separate herself from him, and she screamed his name from pleasure, pain, and submission.

Michael paused a moment, but Maria’s hands moved over him, demanding he come back to her, so groaning he did her bidding. Maria came quicker than Michael as the orgasm hit her strong, dark, and all consuming. Michael’s body disappeared from her awareness as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her, leaving her disjointed and pliable. Michael thrust into her loose body, frustrated that she was no longer with him as he felt the orgasm move through her. It should’ve been enough, but it wasn’t.

Michael pulled her off the wall and down on the floor in front of the fire on a throw rug. It was warm and snug in comparison to the damp rain, and their skin dried. Opening her up to him, his mouth and hands roamed over her body, until his mouth found hers again. Maria kissed him passionately, pulling back, she stared into his face.

“Michael, god …” Maria sat up and quickly sat in his lap taking him back inside as her legs wrapped around him and her arms tightened around his neck. Their heads came together, both of them panting as her hand moved down his front where they were joined and she lifted herself to lower herself back down on him as Michael groaned his appreciation.

The pace slowed becoming long and languishing, drawn out as it turned, picking up speed and passion as their mouths mated with their bodies. Michael lifted Maria off him, and turning her, pushing her front and face to the carpet, he entered her again from behind, his larger body completely covering her as his mouth moved up her back in sucking kisses, one hand on her hip, and the other at her shoulder bracing her as his sweaty skin slid against her in a primal rutting behavior. He loved the power of completely covering her, surrounding her with his body.

He came hard and fast inside of her. The power of it carried Maria with him to come again and again until she couldn’t even feel her heart beating. She shook her head trying to clear it as she began to think he was going to murder her with pleasure.

Afterward Maria collapsed forward and he followed her, his body still covering her; his heart pounding into her upper back as he bit down on the back of her neck, gently … not breaking skin.

It was a long time before either of them could move. Maria’s first coherent thought was that the bed was too far away. Her body hurt, and felt good at the same time. It seemed that he had left a mark in every spot he had been. And there was still a lot of area for him to cover.

At last Michael regained his feet. Stooping, he picked her up and carried her to the bed as Maria tucked her face into his neck. Michael tilted the side of his face and head to cover hers, as if protecting her.

He spooned up to her falling almost immediately to sleep. His body was heavy and he sprawled out on her, his head resting against her breasts as her hands gentled him to sleep, her fingers moving through his sweaty hair. Hers. He was hers, and there was nothing she wanted more.

Michael couldn’t say what woke him. Maybe it was the light of day, or the pull of her fingers stroking him, but he suspected it was the deepseated hunger eating at him. He forgot to eat yesterday, so busy with being with her that they never fed, except on each other.

Maria suddenly became aware that he was awake. When she glanced down he was watching her, making sure she was okay. His hand came up to trace her lips with his fingertip, a soft light in his eyes.

“Hungry?”

“Famished.”

A slow smile moved over his face lightening it into an uncharacteristic youthful look. “I’ll fight you for a bag of Cheese Doodles.”

Laughing, they raced each other to the food supplies they had brought, and sitting on the bed, they ate through everything from chips to chocolate, refueling empty energy reserves.

“What time is it?”

“Late.” Maria glanced at the clock. “We slept away the entire morning. It’s after four right now.”

“Graduation is tonight.” Michael covered his chocolate bar with Tabasco . “You regret not staying for it?”

“Hmm?” Maria seemed to give it some thought. “I don’t know. Let’s see. Getting married to you and having my mom and Sean there. An entire day of sex followed by a night of more. Or … I could’ve gone to graduation and received a piece of paper that means nothing since I can never be Maria DeLuca again in this lifetime. What do you think?”

“How about Maria Guerin?”

Maria brushed his hair off his face. “Okay.”

Michael took her hand, and kissed the rings he put there. “I have to tell you, Maria.”

“Yes?”

Michael breathed in deeply. “Sometimes there’s something dark inside me … something that needs to be fed. I don’t know if it’s Rath or if it’s a leftover from Hank, but when I see you … I feel a peace, a calmness. But that darkness, it never really goes away. With you, it usually gets turned into a raging jealousy.”

“You have nothing to be jealous about.” Maria reassured him.

“I know. I don’t mean another man or anything like that. But … yesterday, when we married, I felt …” Michael shook his head. “Relieved? Like I thought … ‘Good, now she’s completely mine.’ I honestly didn’t know I needed you to be only mine.”

“I think of you as mine too.” Maria pointed out, not wanting him to think he was an aberration.

“Not like this, Maria. I’ve been jealous of your relationships, your mom, cousin, Billy, Liz, your love of Alex, Max, and even your music. I selfishly only want your attention on me, and nothing else. Yesterday when I said ‘I do’ I knew we were leaving together, forever, and all I could think of was how I finally won, that I finally had you all to myself.”

“And leaving before graduation was that?” Maria frowned trying to understand what was troubling him exactly. Her stomach turned to mush at the depth of her emotions for him. “What? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve chosen you easily.”

“I didn’t tell you because I wanted us out of there immediately. I didn’t want to wait twelve days, being spied on by the Special Unit as they slowly realized that you needed to be added to that list. I wanted to be gone. I wanted you out of harm’s way. I swear, Maria … if one agent placed a hand on you, I would blow up this world to kingdom come.”

Maria was deep in thought, her mind was moving over the future, their future. Most of it was full of Michael, but a part of it was grim when considering his possessive problems.

“Michael, how much do I need to worry about this jealousy thing? Is it going to be this huge problem for us?”

“I don’t know.”

Mara nodded her eyes serious. “I need to know, because not today, not even in the next few years nothing is going to change between us. But …” Maria took a deep breath. “In five to ten years, I want a baby with you.” Michael sat up straighter at that admission. “I don’t know if our lifestyle will allow it, but I want them. More than one. I need to know if this jealousy is going to be a problem with your own children.”

Michael’s hands went to her slim waist, and he bent his head to rest on her stomach. He shook his head before glancing up at her. “That’s never going to be a problem,” he promised. His children. He could never be jealous of his own children. In fact, he’d be equally possessive of them as well. Even mentioning them, even in a future tense, made him hungry to see them, to see her carrying them. Waiting five years, now that could be a problem.

Maria framed his face kissing his mouth softly. “Then we don’t have a problem.”

It was getting late. They were lying in bed, replenished from the food, and talking softly to each other about their future, making plans. Michael wanted to be away from the Roswell area before time was up, before the UFO Convention. They decided to leave immediately.

Maria lay against him watching as his hands moved over the card, the tarot card that Madam Vivian gave him. The Lovers.

“What’s wrong?”

Michael shrugged. He glanced at the card. “I didn’t need the card to remind me about love … about you. I thought she could see how much you were already in me.”

“What did she say, Michael?”

“Something bad was about to happen. Very bad. And there was only one way to keep it from happening. I must believe in the love.” Michael turned the card over in his hand. “She said I must believe in love to survive.”

“Do you? Do you believe in love, Michael?”

“I believe in you. I love you.”

“I know you do, but I’m not the only thing you love, honey.” Maria pointed out.

Of course she was right. “I know but …”

Maria sensed his problem. He wanted to know that the others were okay, that they made it out, but she was his major concern. Getting her free of Roswell , away from harm was more important to him.

“I’d want to go just as much if you were there too,” she said. “You’re not there, and neither am I, but they are. We love them too.”

“Would you walk away without looking back … never knowing?” His voice was far away, sad. “Would you really?” He was quiet, patiently waiting for an answer. He wanted to know if she would pick him exclusively.

“Yes. I would stay away and never know … for you. If that was what you needed.” Maria stroked his face tenderly. “I love the others, but I love you … am in love with you.” This was the plain and unvarnished truth. “I’m only in love with you.”

A smile spread across his beautiful serious face, and he hugged her so tight she could barely breathe. “I’ve always loved you,” he whispered. “It’s always been you. Always.” Michael framed her face and kissed her hard, then gentled the kiss to a long sucking draw of breath. “From the moment you invited me in from the rain, and held me … I was a refugee from an abusive life I couldn’t escape, not physically and never mentally, and yet you touched me, and I knew … Maria, I knew it would be okay. Your touch was the first touch of love I ever felt, the first touch that didn’t hurt. It took away so much, because you gave it freely, never demanding anything back. I was so lost in you from that day, that I never looked back. Your touch was all that I craved.”

“You stayed with me.” Maria said, awe in her voice at how long ago it all began between them, how it grew almost unaware, but still it grew strong.

“Yes. I found myself finding ways to sleep with you … to be near, just so I could feel your body next to mine. For a long time, I didn’t care that it was platonic. I needed your touch, and I was leaving, so I never asked or dreamed of more.”

“But you stayed.”

“I stood there ready to leave forever, and all I could feel was the last time I touched you, felt your hands on me, and I knew I would never feel that again.” Michael kissed her eyes. “I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t go back to living the way I did before you, so I stayed.”

Maria picked up The Lovers card. “This isn’t over yet.”

“No.” Michael got out of bed and held out his hand. “C’mon. We both have to know they’re safe. Let’s get it over with so we can finally go.”

~~~

On the way back outside of Roswell , Michael and Maria were on the bike at the side of the road as a convoy of black cars headed into town through the night. Maria’s hands tightened on Michael as they stared after the convoy for a moment. Michael nodded kicking the bike into high gear as they raced to find the others.

That evening, in the auditorium at West Roswell High, the graduating class of 2002 sat in their bright red robes, smiling, laughing, and applauding as a couple of graduating seniors left the dais. The mood was light and happy as parents watched their children, and the graduates were looking at life outside of high school. Liz frowned at the missing Maria, but she glanced at Max and smiled shyly. No one could be more stunned than the group as the guest speaker was announced, a three-time Hugo Award winner for excellence in science fiction, and an international best-selling author, Bryce McCain.

As everyone else applauded and cheered, the author walked out on stage. Liz’s face paled as she saw him … the man in her vision standing as he had before, not days away at the UFO Convention, but there at that moment. She had made a mistake. They all had. Max, Liz, Isabel, Jesse, and Kyle stared, stunned as the man's identity sank in. They exchanged desperate, frightened looks with each other.

Finally Max took a course of action. Going up to the dais, he sent the speaker away as trained gunmen targeted the group. Max used his powers to turn off the lights of the auditorium leaving only one spotlight on himself. Liz, Kyle, and Isabel slipped away as they were lost in the dark. Isabel paused long enough to hug her parents and return her wedding rings to Jesse. They slipped outside leaving Max talking, all of them shocked when a hand grabbed them.

Maria. She motioned for them to follow closely as she led them outside to the waiting Cheville that Michael had started. Not looking back, she got into the car with the others and raced to the meeting place - the destroyed pod chamber.

In the auditorium, Max continued the distraction as they got away.

“I'm a member of that group of … outsiders.” Max confessed knowing those who hunted him already knew the truth. “I always knew I was different … and for a long, long time, all I wanted was to be another face in the crowd, but in the end … it wasn't possible.” Max paused swallowing nervously. “I guess it never was. So from now on, I'll just concentrate on being who I really am. Some of you might not like that.” Max said anger growing in his voice as the spoke to the darkness, to those prepared to kill him. “Some of you might even find that frightening.” He looked up into the darkness again, an edge of anger in his voice. “But that's not my problem anymore. I have to be who I really am … and let fate take care of the rest. So … thank you, Roswell . Thank you for … for letting me live among you.” Max looked out into the audience at his parents, and was now on the verge of tears. “Thank you for giving me a family. Thank you for giving me a home.” Diane Evans put a hand over her mouth, and Philip comforted her.

The Special Unit men burst in through the door of the auditorium as they moved into position to take Max. The sniper began to squeeze the trigger, but suddenly the auditorium was flooded with blinding bright light. A motorcycle roared down the aisle and bounced up the stairs onto the dais.

Michael yelled at Max. “Let's go!!”

Max jumped onto the motorcycle behind Michael, and they roared off down the aisle, bowling over the Special Unit group, breaking open the doors of the auditorium, and racing off down the dark halls into the night.

~~~

One last time, the group gathered near the ruins of the pod chamber. Michael and Max had just arrived, and they were walking together toward the others. Liz, Isabel, Kyle, and Maria were all leaning against the car. All were back in plain clothes as they discarded their robes. Maria was standing at a short distance away from the others, waiting for Michael to finish.

“Modesty prevents me from taking a bow.” Michael told his brother and sister as both Max and Isabel smiled at him. Max walked over to stand by Liz.

“They probably don't know anything about you, Kyle.” Liz pointed out. “You could still go back.”

Kyle sighed shaking his head. “Even if by some miracle they haven't put me together with the rest of you guys, there's still the little matter of my latent alien powers. Someday I'll be buzzing and crackling like tin foil in a microwave, and I'd just as soon be with my own kind when it happens.”

Michael made a face as he reached out his arm inviting Maria to join him. “Does he really get to start referring to us as his 'own kind'?” Max opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t find words. Only a few days from Michael, and he already missed him.

“I'm not going back, either.” Maria told the others as she joined them.

“No?” Liz smiled, but wondered where Maria had been, and how she came to be with Michael, whom they all thought had gone.

“No.” Maria looked up at Michael. “My future's here.”

“Maria and I got married the other day. We went to Las Cruces and told her mother the truth, then we tied the knot.” They ignored the others as Michael picked up her left had with the gold wedding band and diamonds, and kissed the back of it.

“We sort of interrupted our honeymoon to come back for you, but Spaceboy couldn’t sleep. He was getting all cranky-like and colicky. He said you were sure to mess things up, so we hurried back so he could pull your fat out of the fire … again.” Maria said with a tongue in her cheek as Michael pinched her side before studying her. She was teasing, but there was a truth to what she said. He smiled, pulling her to him and kissing her tenderly on the forehead, tucking her close to him where she belonged.

“So now we're six.” Max concluded.

“Like I said, you're gonna need a van.” Michael told Max. “But you’re wrong. There are only four of you. Maria and I aren’t coming.” Before the others could protest there was a sudden glare of headlights as an old VW van came roaring up to where they were standing. It screeched to a halt in front of them. Immediately, Michael, Max, and Isabel put up their hands, ready to use their powers to defend the group. The other stood back.

Jesse scrambled out of the van, putting his hands up defensively, talking fast. “Look, just wait -wait! Don't - don't shoot, or, or blast, or whatever it is you do, o-okay?”

Isabel ran up and wrapped Jesse a tight embrace. “Jesse …”

“I'm goin' with you.” Jesse told Isabel speaking in her hair as he hugged her.

Isabel pulled away tearfully. “No … Jesse, you can’t.”

“To hell with Boston , an' - an' to hell with a career and a normal life, whatever that is. I love you. That's all that matters to me.”

Isabel looked at him with sad tenderness. “The fact that you would come here, and you're willing to do this... It means more to me than you’ll ever know, but I can’t let you do it.”

“Isabel …”

“No!” Isabel moved away from him. “I dragged you into this whole thing without ever telling you the truth, and it was wrong … and the only way to make it right is to let you go.” Jesse shook his head no. “So, go. Go to Boston . Start over. Just … have the life that you were supposed to have before you met me.”

“I'm not going without you.”

“You have to.”

Jesse stared at her intensely, but her resolve was absolute. “Will you come back to me?” He asked his eyes bright with tears.

“I’ll keep praying … that someday it will be safe enough.”

“Well … I'm going to count on that.” He took her hand and put the rings back on her finger, then kissed her hand as they shared one last desperate hug.

Isabel was crying. “I love you...,” she sobbed before kissing him, and they walked away from each other.

The group went to get in the van, and Michael and Maria stood at his bike. Max paused looking back at the two. “Michael, you and Maria, you could come with us. You don’t have to go alone.”

Michael held Maria tight to his chest. He was tempted, but he shook his head. “No. We’re better on our own. Driving off in a broken down van with a Roswell bumpersticker is hardly blending in. They’ll be looking for six. I always thought it was better we go as individuals anyway.”

Liz and Maria stared at each other for a moment, before they left Max and Michael to hug. There was nothing they could say. So they hugged and then stepped back. Liz picked up Maria’s hand and stared at the wedding rings.

“Max asked me to marry him last night,” she told Maria.

“Congratulations … I wish …” Maria shrugged. She couldn’t be there, no more than Liz could have been at her wedding. Things had changed, and this was something they never imagined. Neither of them ever imagined a life without the other … without Alex.

“Me too,” Liz sniffed. “He took a charcoal from the grill and made a diamond when he proposed.”

“That’s so romantic.” Maria squeezed Liz’s hand, happy that Liz was getting everything she wanted. Maria glanced at Max, and for the first time in a really long time, she smiled at him … the girl who once was his friend was back. Making Liz happy was a step in mending fences with Maria, and promising to keep her forever was all he ever needed to do to get Maria on his side again. “I finally discovered where all Spaceboy’s money was going from Meta-Chem. He was using it for payments on the rings. I guess I’ll forgive him for all the times I had to pay the utility bill.”

Liz shook her head in wonder. That long ago? Michael watched them with a strange look on his face … almost hungry, and Liz hugged Maria one last time before stepping back pushing Maria towards her husband. Michael easily reached out and brought her back where she belonged. They watched as Max, Isabel, Liz and Kyle climbed into the van leaving Jesse the Cheville. Michael and Maria stood together as the van drove off into the night.

~~~

As the group was driving away in the van, they saw a police vehicle with its lights flashing, blocking the narrow dirt road. They stopped the van, looking at each other worriedly, trying to see what was happening. Finally, Kyle got out of the van and hesitantly walked towards the officer standing beside the police car. As Kyle got closer, the officer tipped his hat and Kyle smiled when he saw his father, Jim Valenti.

“I hear I missed quite a ceremony.” Jim said to his son.

Kyle laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “I don't … think they're gonna … forget … the class of 2002.” Kyle checked out his father’s attire. “That's a nice outfit … Deputy.”

“Yeah,” Jim looked down at himself. “Yeah, well, when you're startin' over, you've gotta start somewhere, right?”

“Right.”

“I, ah … I won't ask you where you're goin', so I can honestly say I don't know, but I can tell you there are a lot of people looking for you … an' right now they think you're headed south to Mexico.”

“Why do they think that?” Kyle asked.

Jim shrugged, taking his usual role as protector to the teens. “I guess they got an anonymous tip.” Jim smiled. “I can get you to Arizona , then you're on your own.” Kyle nodded appreciating his father’s help and blessings. “I mean, you're really on your own.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Jim was choked up over having to let his son go. “It's the least I could do.”

“I mean … thanks for …” Kyle couldn’t find the words. “Just … thanks.”

Jim took off his hat and moved forward to give Kyle a hug goodbye. They were both choking back tears, crying.

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too.” Jim kissed his son, and Kyle finally stepped away to walk off.

“Goodbye … all right …” Kyle nodded, and turned to go. Jim watched, grieved, as his son goes back to get in the van ready to embark on the rest of his life without him.

~~~

As they drove into the night, the van raced the long span of deserted highway through the desert towards Arizona and beyond. The Deputy’s car left them miles back, making a U-turn to Roswell , blinking his lights one last time. Liz drove in silence as she constructed a letter to her father in her head, along with her journal to tell him the truth … her truth and that of her future husband.

Roswell was over. So that was the end. What a long strange trip it had been. Would they ever go back? Liz didn’t know, even she couldn’t see everything in the future. All she knew was that she was with the man he loved, and she was happy.

As the van continued its lonely journey, a motorbike caught up to it on the long stretch of highway. It pulled around them to speed on out of sight as Michael and Maria chased the sun to Sin City where their journey was waiting to begin, leaving the old van with a bumper sticker that said, “Thank you for visiting Roswell ” with a small picture of a flying saucer on it, in their dust.

~The End~