Angel By Diana (silverbluelight@yahoo.com )
Angel PART ONE
May…
He came to her in the rain. He stood outside her window and watched her brush her hair. She didn’t notice him until she walked over to shut the curtains. She rolled her eyes and cracked the window when she saw him standing there.
“What do you want?” Maria DeLuca spat.
He didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked at her. He knew he shouldn’t be there but he couldn’t help himself. He just needed to see her face again.
“What? You can’t speak? Why are you here, Michael?” He still hadn’t said anything and she sucked her teeth in irritation. “You know, you’ve done this already. You show up at my window in the middle of the night in the rain with that stupid puppy-dog look on your face and you expect me to let you in. You think I’m stupid? You think I’ll fall for that one again? I don’t think so, buddy.” She started to slam the window when he put his hand on the glass.
“Maria,” Michael whispered.
She watched him reach down and open the window a little more. He was staring at her when she looked back up. His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them.
[Oh no.] She thought. [Be strong girl. Don’t let him get to you. Teflon. I am Teflon.]
“Maria,” He whispered again. “I just want to talk.” He lifted the window a little higher.
[No. No. No.] She thought as she shook her head. [Remember… I’m angry with him. He left me. No. No. No.] She looked away.
“Please?” He whispered.
She looked up into his eyes for a moment. [Great.] She thought. [So much for being smart about this.]
She sighed and opened the window to let him inside.
***
“Okay. You wanted to talk? Start talking. You have five minutes,” Maria said when Michael got inside.
He almost laughed at her. [Trying to be tough and you’re wearing cloud pajamas and fuzzy blue slippers.] He thought.
She folded her arms under the picture of the smiley-faced cloud on her chest. “Well?”
He smiled. A little.
“What’s funny?” She asked. “You know, this silence thing is really annoying. And you’re dripping all over my carpet. So if you have absolutely nothing to say then I suggest--”
“Maria,” He interrupted. He almost laughed at her again. [Damn, she’s cute when she’s angry.] “Can you just shut up? Just shut up and let me speak.”
She frowned at him. “Go on.” She sat on her bed, crossed her legs and folded her arms.
“I’m… uh… I’m here because… uh… you know… I mean… I really wanted…” He ran his hands through his hair.
“You really wanted what, Michael?”
He watched her mouth move as she spoke. She was wearing that lip-gloss again. The whole room smelled like waxy strawberries. Her mouth curved into a glossy smirk.
“What do you really want?”
Wacky Wild Strawberry lip-gloss tasted like red popcicles. It was too sweet and too greasy. It was Michael’s favorite flavor. Maria wore Bubbly Blazin’ Blueberry sometimes. That wasn’t nearly as sweet or greasy, but it wasn’t as good either. Maria’s strawberry lips matched the Tabasco on his own.
He looked down at her fuzzy slippers.
“You.” He said softly.
She barely heard him. She walked over and leaned towards him. “What did you say?”
He looked her squarely in the eyes. “I mean, I wanted to see you.”
Her jaw dropped slightly. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah.”
“What, are you in trouble or something? Did something happen, Michael?”
“No.”
“Not to you or Max or Isa-- the others?”
“Maria,” He rubbed his temples. “Nothing is wrong. I wanted to see you, so I came to see you. Why is that so hard to believe?”
Maria looked down at her slippers. “I… um… I just didn’t think you cared.”
“I care. You know that.” He walked closer and rested his hand on her cheek.
His hands were cold. Maria closed her eyes at his touch. It was almost like nothing had happened. Almost like nothing had changed. She almost let herself believe that it was just Michael coming to apologize after one of their fights. She almost smiled.
She opened her eyes and everything came back to her.
“No,” she sighed. She brushed his hand away. “No. You can’t keep doing this, Michael. I can’t… You can’t keep doing this to me.” She backed away.
“Doing what?”
“You can’t keep letting me get close to you and then pushing me away. Or running away. You said you loved me and then you ran away from me. You told me that you’re supposed to be with someone else and then you came back here to me. Do you know how confusing this is? You can’t… You can’t act like nothing’s happened, Michael.”
She looked away as a tear trickled down her cheek.
“Maria.” He walked forward and tried to touch her face again. She backed away and shook her head.
“Maria,” He repeated. “This has been hell on the both of us. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me or to us… but… I love you. I just wanted you to know that. And I… I never would have been strong enough to do what I have to do if I had never known you.” His voice was barely a whisper. He walked forward to touch her face. She did not move.
“Maria, I love you,” He lifted her chin. “I can’t offer you forever. But I’m offering myself to you now.”
She closed her eyes. She bit her lip. She shook her head.
“Please?” He whispered.
She looked up into his eyes again. [I’m so stupid.] She thought.
She sighed and he leaned in to kiss her.
***
She tasted like waxy strawberries.
He tasted like Tabasco sauce.
His cold, damp hand cooled her flushed cheek.
She leaned into him. She rested her body against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as tightly as she could.
He wouldn’t let go of her. He wouldn’t take his mouth from hers. He took his hand from her cheek and wrapped that arm around her waist.
She touched his chest, his face, his lips.
He touched her hair, her skin, her lips.
Everything smelled like waxy strawberries.
But something told him that it was wrong. He pulled away from her.
“Maria… we can’t.” He tried to back away and free himself from her arms.
She pulled closer to him. “But I want to. Don’t run away from me again.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He whispered.
“You won’t.”
“I don’t want you to do anything that you’re not ready--”
“I am ready.”
“Maria.” He looked away. He had to leave while he still could. He had to run.
She cupped his face in her hands.
“Please?” She whispered.
He looked at her. He didn’t hesitate. He bowed his head and kissed her again.
***
He woke up in her arms the next morning. It was just after dawn. The morning light flooded the room and made it too bright for him to sleep. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but he couldn’t help smiling when he saw the girl lying next to him.
He remembered the way her lips felt on his last night. He could still taste her. He could still feel her. Hot and sweet and spicy. He remembered crying when she called out his name. She called to him as if she was lost and he was the only one who could save her. The way she said his name made him feel whole. It made him feel human.
For the first time in his life he wasn’t scared to feel that way.
He kissed her forehead and she shifted a little. Last night was beautiful. He didn’t know any other way to put it. But it was morning now.
He had to leave.
One night. That’s all he could give her right now. He swore to make it up to her.
She smiled in her sleep when he got out of the bed. He kissed her cheek and slid out of her arms as easily as he could. There was no need to wake her. He put on his still-damp clothes and went to the window.
He looked back at her. She looked like an angel in her sleep. She was his first kiss, his first love, his first lover. It hurt like hell to have to leave her now.
He climbed out the window.
***
She woke up an hour after he left. She already knew he’d be gone. She touched the empty pillow beside hers. She turned to the open window and watched as the curtains fluttered in a breeze.
“I love you, too, Michael,” she said. She turned away from the window and cried herself back to sleep.
***
August…
“Are you okay, Maria?”
Liz’s voice startled her. Maria was busy staring out one of the windows in the Crashdown.
“Hm?” The blonde girl said.
“Where were you just now?” Liz asked. “You looked like you were a million miles away.”
Maria tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Oh… I’m fine. I was just thinking…” Her voice trailed off.
“Yeah? Thinking about all that fun you had California this summer? The sun, the sand, the surfer guys?” Liz smiled at her best friend mischievously.
“No. You know it wasn’t even like that, Liz,” Maria sighed. Her face fell for a moment, and then she perked back up. For Liz’s sake.
“Yeah, I know,” Liz said. Her face fell for a moment, and then she perked back up. For Maria’s sake.
“Actually I was thinking about how much it sucks to be stuck back here in Roswell. You know, this little town has absolutely nothing to offer for a world-class traveler such as myself.” Maria said melodramatically.
“Oh really? Well then I guess Roswell is perfectly fine for little homebodies like me.”
“Yup.”
Liz popped Maria with her dishcloth and both girls giggled. “I’m glad that you’re home, Maria. Things just weren’t the same without you.”
“Yeah. I know. I missed you too, Lizzie.”
“I just feel so bad that we didn’t get to spend too much time together before you left. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” Liz grinned.
“Yeah… I guess we do…”Maria turned back to the window.
“Hey… why don’t I come over tonight? You bring a movie. I’ll bring the Ben & Jerry’s. How’s that?”
Maria smiled at her best friend. “Sure. Sounds great. I just… ah… I have something I have to do first. I just have to go to the pharmacy and pick something up.”
“You’re not sick or anything, are you?”
“Well… I… um… I might be coming down with something. I just need to make sure.”
“Oh… I hope you’re okay, Maria.”
“So do I.”
***
[I have to tell Liz.] Maria thought as she drove to the pharmacy. [Even if I’m not… even if it’s nothing. It is nothing. It’s nothing. I’m just overreacting. I’m just stressed out right now. Maybe I really am sick or something. But I have to tell Liz either way. Alex too. They’re my best friends and I’ll need them… even if it’s nothing. It’s nothing. Liz should know about what happened with Michael anyway. I should have told her in the first place. But it only would have made her think about Max and then she would have gotten sad all over again. I couldn’t do that to her. But she has to know about Michael now. Oh… Michael… what am I going to tell him? Nothing. I won’t have to say anything because I’m not-- because it’s nothing. It’s nothing.]
***
Maria picked up the box and reread the instructions. They were pretty easy to follow. And the results would be pretty easy to make out too. One line for no. Two lines for yes. Ninety-nine point nine percent accuracy. She took it home. She took the test. 7:00. She waited. She paced. 7:01. She wrung her hands. 7:02. She wondered what she’d do if it came out positive. 7:03. She wondered what she would do if it came out negative. 7:04. She wondered what she would tell Michael. 7:05. She picked up the white plastic stick. She looked at the little indicator. She saw two little pink lines. One line for no. Two lines for yes. Maria was pregnant.
***
Liz found Maria curled up on her bed.
“Maria?”
Maria said nothing. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth on the mattress.
“Maria, honey, what’s wrong? What happened? You can tell me.”
Maria said nothing. She ground tears out of her eyes with her fist.
“Is it your Mom? Is it… is it Michael?”
Maria looked up. “Yeah, Liz. It’s Michael and it’s me.”
“What? Maria? I don’t understand…” Liz said.
Maria stopped crying. “Liz… I’m… I’m pregnant.”
Liz’s mouth fell open. “Oh Maria… Michael?”
“Right before I went to California, he came over and…” Maria sighed heavily. “I am so stupid, Liz. It was just the same old ‘I love you but I must leave you’ Michael bullshit and I fell for it. I don’t know why I keep letting him get to me. I just… I just…” Maria dissolved into tears. Liz sat down beside her best friend and put an arm around her.
“Don’t cry, Maria. It’s all right. But… why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”
“I didn’t know for sure until just now. But I didn’t say anything about Michael because I didn’t want to worry you, Liz. I didn’t want you to start thinking about Max and get upset all over again.”
Liz looked sad for a moment. “I was around for a whole summer by myself and I didn’t fall apart. I didn’t see them that much anyway. They’re kinda cliquey now. Besides, you don’t have to worry about me or anyone else right now, Maria. You just have to worry about your baby.”
“I know. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Well…” Liz said thoughtfully “What about having an--”
“No. No one is going to hurt my baby. And I can’t give it up for adoption because…”
“I know.”
“Oh, Liz… I just don’t know what to do…” tears streamed down Maria’s cheeks.
“Shh… it’s okay.”
“No. It isn’t,” Maria sniffed. “You know, I don’t think I would have minded so much if this had happened ten years from now. Or even five. But I’m just seventeen and I’m going to have a baby, Liz. A half-Czechoslovakian baby at that. What am I going to do? And what am I going to tell Michael? You know that he’s probably planning to have half a dozen babies with Isabel by now.”
“Now Maria, you know that’s not fair. I mean, you haven’t seen Michael in weeks. And you know he loves you--”
“Love isn’t destiny, Liz,” Maria interrupted.
“You have a child with him now, Maria. Your child was put on this earth for a reason. That is destiny.”
Maria sighed. “So what do I do?”
Liz sighed. “I don’t know. But you have to tell him, Maria. You just have to.”
***
“Maria?”
Michael’s eyes widened when he saw her standing on his doorstep. He hadn’t seen her since the night he came to her. He didn’t expect to see her very often anymore.
“Hello, Michael. I need to speak with you.” Maria pushed her way into the room and saw Max, Isabel, and Tess on Michael’s couch. “Alone.”
“We’re busy, Maria. Talk to him some other time,” Tess snapped.
“This will not wait, Tess. Leave or I’ll pick you up by your bleached-blonde, home permed hair and throw you out.”
Isabel grabbed Tess’s arm before she had another chance to speak. “We can talk later.” Isabel said, through muffled giggles. She pulled Tess out of the room. “He’s all yours.”
Michael tried to speak up and Max touched him on the shoulder. “It’s nice to see you, Maria,” Max said. He looked her over and his eyes widened suddenly.
[He knows.] Maria thought. [He can sense the baby.]
“Maria?” Max questioned.
“It’s very nice to see you too, Max. But… ah… don’t say anything else. Please, just let me tell Michael what I need to tell him.”
Max nodded and looked at Michael and Maria one more time before he left the room. Maria closed the door behind him.
“What are you doing here?” Michael finally asked.
“Like I said. We need to talk.”
“About what? Max, Tess, Isabel and I were discussing something very import--”
“Save it, Michael. You four are always discussing something that could potentially have an effect that could possibly change the rest of your lives. I need to talk now.”
“Fine. What do you want?”
“We need to talk about us.”
“There is no ‘us,’ Maria, and you know there can’t be.”
“Oh, but there is. And I have to tell you something.”
Michael ran his hands through his hair. “What is it? Is it about-- It was only one night, Maria. You know that. It was a mistake in the first place.”
“You got that right.”
“So what? What could you possibly say to me now?”
Maria looked up at him and laughed a little. “You honestly don’t know, do you? That’s really funny, ‘cause Max knew right off. Huh. So much for improving your powers.”
“What are you talking about!?”
“I’m pregnant.” She whispered. He barely heard her.
“What did you say?”
“I said I’m pregnant, you bastard.” Maria yelled.
Michael swallowed hard. He didn’t know what to say. “Are you sure?”
“Ninety-nine point five percent positive.”
“Is it… is it mine?”
Maria resisted the temptation to slap him. “How dare you? You know it’s yours.” She backed away from him. “This was a bad idea. And you know what? I’m leaving! No. *We’re* leaving!”
Michael blocked the door. “Wait, wait. I’m sorry. It… it slipped out. I’m just kinda nervous. That’s all.”
Maria folded her arms across her chest.
“When did you find out?”
“Last night. I took a home pregnancy test.”
“So you haven’t been to the doctor?”
“I don’t know if I should go, you know? I mean this baby is half human and half… you. I mean what if it comes out green or something?”
He smiled a little and she laughed at him.
“It’s good to see you smile,” He said.
“Yeah. I haven’t been doing that too often lately.”
Both sighed. “So you’re about…”
“Three months along. I counted back on my calendar.” Maria said.
Michael stared at her for a moment. He was elated and terrified all at once. Here was his angel. And she was carrying his child. He couldn’t ask for anything more. But they were only seventeen. How would they support a baby? Nevermind the fact that she was human and he… wasn’t. What would he tell Max, Tess, and Isabel? What about Isabel? He was so confused. Michael rubbed his temples.
“Michael?” Maria said.
“Come here,” Michael said as he fell to his knees.
“What are you doing?”
Michael put his hands on Maria’s belly and looked up at her. “I want to feel our baby,” He said. “Put your hands over mine.”
Maria lowered her hands to his. The apartment was filled with light as she started to glow. The glow spread throughout her body and into Michael. The light brightened and both Michael and Maria grinned when they felt the baby moving beneath their hands.
“I’m not even showing. I didn’t know babies that tiny could kick like that.” She said.
“She’s our baby,” Michael said through a smile. “She can do anything she wants.”
The glow faded when Michael took his hands away from her and stood up.
“You’re okay with this?” Maria asked.
“Yeah. I think we’ll be okay.”
Maria smiled. “Wait. You said ‘she’.”
“Yeah. I hope she looks like her mother.”
***
“You’re what?!” Tess coughed. She nearly spat her Cherry Coke out on the other six teens at the table.
“Pregnant,” Michael said coolly. “Maria’s going to have my baby.”
Maria looked around the table for support. It had been a long time since the six--seven of them had all been together like this. Liz and Max were the only ones there who looked semi- happy for them. [Hopeless romantics.] Maria thought. Liz smiled at her from across the table while Max made his best ‘oh-Michael-you-really-messed-up-this-time-but-you’re-my-brother-and-I-love-you-so-I’ll-support-you-anyway’ face. Tess was still choking on her soda. Isabel’s face was almost expressionless. Alex looked thoroughly confused part of the time, absolutely terrified part of the time, and extraordinarily happy to be sitting there with Isabel the rest of the time.
Michael squeezed Maria’s hand under the table. She smiled. [Huh… now he holds my hand in public.] She thought.
“How did it happen?” Alex asked. “Wait, wait, wait. I meant when… how far along are you, Maria?”
“Three months.” She answered.
“What are you going to do?” Isabel looked very concerned. She caught Maria looking at her and smiled a little.
“Well,” Michael said, “We’re keeping the baby.”
“Meaning…” Isabel said.
“Meaning, we’re going to raise the baby together. Michael’s going to start working at the Crashdown again. We’ll both work, we’ll find a way to stay in school, and we’ll do our best to be good parents.”
“You guys aren’t gonna… get married or anything, are you?” Liz asked.
Michael and Maria looked at each other.
“No.” Maria answered. “We don’t think that would be the best thing for any of us now. I mean, we’re seventeen. I’m not exactly ready for motherhood, you know. And neither of us are ready for marriage.”
Tess finally stopped coughing. “How could you be so stupid, Michael? Bringing a baby into this? It ruins everything.” She turned to Maria. “You should just get rid of it. That would be the best thing to do.”
“Oh really?” Maria fired back. “Best for who? Best for you? Listen, bitch--”
“Tess,” Michael interrupted. He held Maria back. “I don’t know what your problem is. But you ever say something like that again, I swear I’ll snap your neck. Now this is *our* baby. You are *my* sister. That makes her *your* niece. You wanted a family? You got it. But that doesn’t give you any right to speak to the mother of my child that way.”
Tess folded her arms and started pouting.
“I think this has been a shock for everyone,” Max said eventually. “Have you had the chance to tell your mother yet, Maria?”
“No,” Maria said, still glaring at Tess. “She’s not back from California yet. She won’t be home from my uncle’s for at least three more weeks. She only sent me home early since school’s starting soon. And this is the kind of thing we need to tell her in person. ”
“Wait… Niece?” Liz asked. A smile spread across her face.
Michael looked over at Maria. “Yeah. I touched Maria’s stomach and I could sense the baby. I could just tell it was a girl.” He said.
“I can just imagine,” Liz said, smiling. “A little girl running around here.”
“With big green eyes.” Alex said.
“And scruffy hair.” Isabel said
Michael and Maria smiled.
“Thanks, guys,” Maria said to everyone but Tess. “I mean, I freaked out when I found out about this, but you’re all being so understanding.”
“Well we’re not saying that this was the smartest thing to do.” Max said.
“It was completely irresponsible.” Isabel said.
“And you both should have known better.” Liz said. “But what’s done is done. Your baby girl is here for a reason.”
“And we all have to deal with that.” Isabel said.
“Well… I know that this will be hard for the both of you,” Max said. “But we’ll all be here for you.”
“Yeah. Just call me anytime you need a baby-sitter,” Liz said, beaming.
“And Unkie Alex is here for anything else you need.” Alex winked at Maria.
“Unkie Alex?” Isabel asked.
“Yeah. Goes along well with Auntie Bell, don’t you think?” Alex winked at Isabel.
“Auntie Bell?” Isabel laughed. “This child is not calling me Auntie anything. ‘Isabel’ will be just fine.”
“You’ll change your mind when little Alexandra is born.”
“Alexandra?” Maria chuckled.
“Sure. Alexandra Elisabeth Michaela Marie Isabel Maxine DeLuca-Guerin. That covers all bases, doesn’t it?” Alex laughed.
Alex and Isabel continued to banter as Michael and Maria got ready to leave. Max and Liz followed them to the door.
“So you think you can do this?” Max said as he clapped Michael on the back.
“I don’t know. I’m scared out of my mind, Maxwell.”
“Yeah. I can imagine what that’s like,” He said as he looked over at Liz.
“You know, Max, this pregnancy thing shocked the hell out of me. I don’t exactly know where Maria and I stand right now. But…” Michael looked over at Liz. “It shouldn’t have taken this to get Maria to talk to me again. Or vice versa. Do you know what I’m saying?”
Max sighed heavily. “Yeah. I know. This thing with us and Tess and Izzy really isn’t working out. Not like it’s supposed to. Maybe this baby is a sign.” Max looked over at Liz again. “Maybe we really can have our relationships with normal people and still do what we need to do.”
“Maybe,” Michael said.
Liz hugged Maria and walked back into the Crashdown. Tess walked out the door and sauntered towards Max.
“Listen, Max,” Michael said. “I’m going to go ahead and get Maria home. She needs her rest and it could get pretty ugly around here if we don’t go now.”
“All right,” Max said. He pulled Michael into a hug. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure,” Michael said as he walked over to Maria.
Tess watched Michael and Maria drive out of the parking lot.
“Max?” She brushed her fingers against his shoulder. He flinched beneath her touch.
“Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble tonight, Tess?” He asked without turning around.
“Max, I don’t want to cause trouble. I didn’t mean what I said in there. I just… I was surprised. We all were.”
“That gave you no right to act like that.”
“I know. And I am sorry.”
“You should apologize to Michael and Maria. Not to me.”
“I know. I will. It’s just that… What I said in there was callous, maybe, but it wasn’t that far off from the truth. We just need to find something that works out for everyone involved. Max, you’re Michael’s best friend. You could try to talk some sense into him.”
Max whirled around to face her. “Talk some sense into him? Do you hear yourself?”
“I know it sounds bad Max--”
“It sounds awful. Michael and Maria have already found something that works out for everyone. They are going to raise their daughter together. The rest of us are going to do our best to help them however we can.”
“I just…” Tess stammered. “I just think that no one else needs to be involved with us.”
“Liz, Maria, and Alex are already involved.”
“Max--”
“And Maria’s baby is one of us. You need to remember that, Tess.” Max turned and went into the Crashdown.
Tess stood outside. The night air blew against her skin and gave her goosebumps. She looked through the window and saw Alex and Isabel still at the table. Isabel was obviously flirting, and Alex was eating it up. Tess shook her head at them. She looked over at the counter and saw Liz and Max together.
Tess hugged herself. She was alone again. She looked up at the stars and sighed.
“It’s all ruined. What am I going to do?”
***
“Can you stay with me tonight?”
Maria smiled at Michael’s request. “You want me to stay here in this filthy apartment?” She teased.
“Yeah,” Michael bowed his head. “I just want to be near you and the baby tonight.”
“Sure, I’ll stay.” Maria said. Michael looked up and smiled. She frowned at a pizza box lying on the couch. “You really have to do something about this mess though.” She sat down.
“It is not that bad. I can clean it up.”
“I hope you plan on using a whole lot of bleach…” She jumped back from something that crawled out of the pizza box. “And a whole lot of bug spray.”
Michael moved the box out of the way and sat down next to her. “This is good practice, isn’t it?” He said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean me and you,” Michael placed his hand on her belly. “and the baby, here in this apartment together.”
“Practice?” Maria was confused.
“For when you move in here.”
“What makes you think I’m moving in with you?”
“Well I want you to. I don’t want either of you out of my sight. Don’t you want to stay here?”
Maria looked around the apartment. “I don’t know. Maybe. But with my luck, my mom will send me to a convent when she finds out about this. She is going to freak out, Michael.”
“I know. But I’ll be right here for you.” He smiled at her and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“You think we could make this work?” Maria asked.
“I think we can try.” Michael answered.
***
Tess waited in the caves for an hour.
“Where is he?” She wondered aloud. “It’s one in the morning, I’m out here freezing my ass off and he’s nowhere in sight.” She sat down on a rock and folded her arms across her chest.
“I swear I’m giving him five more minutes and then--”
“And then you’ll what?” A figure appeared at the mouth of the cave.
Tess jumped to her feet. “Nacedo? I didn’t see you there.”
The shapeshifter leered at her. “How are you, my girl? And how are the hatchlings?”
Tess shifted uncomfortably. “Oh… they’re fine. We’re… making progress I guess.”
“And their destinies?”
“They don’t suspect a thing. And they would never guess that it was all a lie.”
“Or a manipulation,” Nacedo said, smiling. “You really have mastered mind control.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“This will all end soon, Tess. We will get rid of those three before they even know that we’re the enemy. Their race will have lost three of their leaders and our race will benefit from it.” Nacedo said.
Tess looked away. She wanted to help Nacedo. But she didn’t want to have to betray the only friends she’d ever had.
[Enemies.] Tess reminded herself. [They’re the enemies.]
“And what’s going on with the humans?”
Tess looked down at her feet. “They… um… They’re still involved with the humans.”
“You said that they believed in their destiny.”
“They did… but they’re still involved with Liz, Alex… and Maria.”
“What happened?”
“Well they’re in love with them, sir. Or at least they think they are. And…they still don’t trust me. Not completely.” Tess said sheepishly.
The shapeshifter wrenched her arm. “You make them trust you! This is too important to mess up. Do you understand me?” He tossed Tess aside.
“It’s not that easy!” Tess wailed. “Things are complicated now.”
“Complicated how?” Nacedo’s eyes grew dark.
[Oh no.] Tess thought. She said nothing as he approached her again. He grabbed her by the shoulders. Her memories of Michael and Maria at the Crashdown flooded out.
“Huh,” He scoffed. “A half-breed. How charming.” He looked at Tess. “I can see why this would complicate things.”
“Michael will not abandon this baby for anything. I know he won’t. Max and Isabel won’t abandon Michael. Especially not for me. What can I do?” Tess asked softly.
A grin spread across Nacedo’s face.
“I’ll take care of it.” He growled. He let her go and started out of the cave.
“Wait,” Tess said as she ran after him. “What does that mean?”
“Never mind. You keep working on the hatchlings. I’ll worry about the bastard.”
Tess hurried after Nacedo. “You aren’t going to hurt it, are you? It’s just a child.”
He searched his pockets for his keys. “Where is all this concern coming from? It isn’t really your niece, you know. And I know that you don’t really give a damn about any of them. Do you?”
Tess looked at her feet. “I… don’t--”
“Don’t lie to me, girl. I know how you really feel. You really do love him don’t you?”
Tess looked down at her feet.
“Such a waste.” Nacedo said to himself. “I know that you think that they’re your friends now, but they’re not. They are your enemies. And that destiny of theirs is something you created in their minds. Nothing more.”
He turned away from her and got in his car.
“I just don’t see why we have to hurt anyone.” Tess whispered.
“You knew that someone was going to get hurt when we began this, Tess. Don’t act like you’re innocent. Now if we can’t completely rid ourselves of these three, then the least we can do is let them know that our race is not to be messed with.”
“But, Father--”
Nacedo whirled around to face her. “I am *not* your father. But you are to follow my orders. It has been months and you haven’t gotten anywhere. This baby could jeopardize our whole operation and you’re worried about how to wear your hair so the love of your life will notice you. They’re your enemies. I am your only friend. Your loyalties lie with me. I suggest that you get your priorities straight, Tess.”
She watched his taillights fade into the distance as he sped away.
***
The alarm rang. The shrieking clock didn’t really wake him up. He’d been awake for hours. Michael hit the snooze button and rolled back over.
[Ten minutes.] He thought. [Just give me ten more minutes.] He propped himself up on his elbows and gazed at the girl before him.
He touched Maria’s belly lightly and waited to see if she’d wake up. When she didn’t move, he touched her belly again and rested his hand there.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Sorry I’m being so quiet. I don’t want to wake your mother up.” Michael smiled slightly. Mother. Maria was going to be somebody’s mother. Maria was going to be the mother of his child. The thought of it was still so new to him.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say hello. And… just because you were a… surprise… doesn’t mean we don’t want you. We love you. And I love your mother. I’ll take of both of you… I promise.” He leaned over and brushed his lips against Maria’s stomach.
Maria shifted a little and opened her eyes.
“Morning,” Michael said, and propped himself up on his elbows again.
“Morning, Michael,” She yawned. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Just talking to Maddie.”
Maria turned to face him. “Maddie?”
“Our daughter.”
“Oh,” Maria said. “Wait… Maddie?”
“Yeah. Madeline. It’s a nice name.”
Maria rubbed her eyes. “If you say so…” She yawned again. “What time is it?”
“Um… almost nine.”
“Why are we up so early? I don’t start my shift until noon. And yours is at eleven.”
Michael got out of the bed. “You don’t need to sleep so late anyway. Come on. You need to get some breakfast.”
“Breakfast?”
“Yeah. Do you want an omelet?”
“You’re making breakfast?”
“Most important meal of the day. And you don’t expect me to let you or my kid starve, do you?”
***
Maria buttoned her uniform and got ready to go to the Crashdown. She stared down at her stomach.
“Still flat,” She said to herself. “I wonder how big I’m going to get.” She rubbed her belly. “And I wonder how big you’re going to get.” She smiled a little. “Hello in there. It’s me, your mommy.” She said in a sing-song voice. “Oh great, I sound like a dork. Don’t worry. Your mommy’s not this dorky all the time. Well… most of the time. So… how are you doing in there? We watched this video in school once and it showed these babies in the womb who were sucking their thumbs and moving around and everything. I wonder if you can do that yet. Probably not, huh? You’re still so small.”
Maria hugged herself. “Well… I gotta go to work. I just wanted to say hello. And let you know that I love you. Your father and I both love you.” She smiled to herself. Father. Michael was going to be a father. The father of her child. The thought of it was still so new to her.
“Anyway, I love you. You just remember that. Things might get… weird sometimes. But I don’t want you to worry, okay? Just know that we love you.”
She kissed her fingertips and pressed them to her stomach. “Talk you later, baby.” Maria buttoned up her uniform the rest of the way.
“Oh, and just so you know, you won’t have to worry about having a dorky name either. There is no way I’m letting your father call you Maddie.”
***
“I need table six’s order now, Michael.” Maria yelled. It was good that Michael was working to support the baby, but she had forgotten how slow he could be behind the grill. [He’s worse than Jose.] She thought. She took her grief relief out of her pocket and swallowed a few drops.
“What’s wrong?” Michael asked from behind the grill. “Is it--”
“It’s the lunch rush, Michael. I’m okay. Really. But I think that table six will skewer me if they don’t get their burgers and rings pronto.”
“Yeah. Their order’s up anyway: five Will Smith burgers and three Saturn rings. But you shouldn’t be carrying that. It’s too heavy.”
“And how do you suggest I get this food over there? You can’t get it. You have to work on table eight’s order.”
“Let Liz carry it,” Michael suggested.
“Gee thanks, Michael,” Liz chimed in. “Just what I want. Another table to cover.”
“Don’t worry, Lizzie. I’m not an invalid. I can get it. And you,” She said turning to Michael, “hurry up with those fries.” Michael watched Maria walk away with the order.
“Hey,” Liz said. “I know you’re concerned. That’s only natural. But she’s a big girl and she can take care of herself.”
“Yeah, thanks, Liz,” He said flatly. “Look, don’t you have a table to cover or something?”
Liz sighed. “Well I would, except the new cook just burned one of my tables orders.”
Michael turned to the charred remains of table five’s hamburgers.
“Careful,” Liz chuckled. “You’re almost worse than Jose.”
***
Maria reached up and flushed the toilet.
“Oh…” She groaned. She folded her arms across the cool porcelain lid. “Normal women are not supposed to be morning sick at three fifteen in the afternoon.” She stood shakily. “Then again, I’m not normal, Michael sure as hell isn’t normal, and this pregnancy shouldn’t be anything close to normal.” She washed her face and hands and rinsed her mouth. “Now I know I’m weird. I’m talking to myself.”
Someone knocked on the door lightly. Maria looked up from the sink and saw her best friend peeping through the door.
“You okay, sweetie?” Liz asked.
Maria let her inside the tiny bathroom. “Yeah, I’m fine. But I don’t think I’ll be eating anymore peanut butter and pickle sandwiches anytime soon.”
Liz crinkled her nose. “Peanut butter and pickles? I don’t think I’d ever want to get pregnant if it meant eating stuff like that.”
“Are you kidding me? I’ve been eating them since I was a little kid. My mom used to pack them in my lunchbox. Remember? You never would trade sandwiches with me.”
Liz made another face, then laughed. “You are a strange, strange girl, Maria DeLuca.”
Maria put her arm around Liz’s shoulder. “I know. But you love me for it.”
Both girls giggled. Liz straightened Maria’s antennae headband.
“We’d better get back to work. Michael almost had a fit when you ran out of there like that. He demanded that I come in here and check on you.”
Maria laughed. “Huh… I figured he would have broken down the bathroom door himself. He’s being so overprotective.”
“Are you okay with this, Maria?” Liz asked after a moment.
“What? The baby?” She thought for a moment. “Yeah I am. I mean, I’m seventeen, my whatever-he-is and I have no intentions of getting married, my mom is going to murder me when she finds out, I’m nauseous half the time, I make six bucks an hour plus tips, my whatever-he-is makes six bucks an hour, not to mention the fact that my baby is half Czechoslovakian. But I’m okay with all of that, you know? It’s scary as hell, but I’m okay with it. There’s this little baby inside me and, somehow, that makes everything okay. And I have you guys and Michael. So I’ll be fine.”
Liz drew Maria into a hug. “I’m glad you’re happy. You deserve to be.” She let go of Maria and smiled. “Now we really should go. The customers will probably riot if they don’t get their food fast.”
Maria followed Liz out of the bathroom and started into the Crashdown. She hesitated as she reached the refrigerator.
“Uh… listen, Lizzie. I know that my break has lasted way longer than five minutes, but do you think I could get a little extra time? I got hungry all of a sudden.”
“After the peanut butter and pickles thing? What did you want to eat?”
“I’ll probably just get some cake or something.”
“Sure, Maria. Take all the time you need.” Liz turned to walk away.
“Oh, uh, Liz?” Maria called.
“Yeah?”
“Your dad keeps the extra condiments in the right bottom corner of the pantry, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Think he’d mind if I took one of the extra bottles of Tabasco sauce?”
***
“Go home, Michael.”
Maria’s silver antennae bounced as she spoke. She got her keys and exited the Crashdown.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Michael asked. He punched his time cards and followed Maria out the door.
Maria turned to face him. “It means that you’ve been my second shadow this week. I’d just like a little time to myself tonight, that’s all.”
“What? You don’t want me around you or something?” Michael folded his arms across his chest.
“You know that’s not what I meant. It’s just that we’ve been together every minute since I told you about the baby. I love that you’re already acting like a doting father, but I’d love to have a little time to myself too.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you either of you, Maria.”
Maria smiled and touched Michael’s cheek. “I know. But it’s not like I’m going to be playing with knives or anything. I’m just going to go home, take a bath, eat some ice cream, and go to bed. How’s that sound?”
Michael frowned. “Lose the ice cream. You don’t need all that sugar. Just drink some milk or something.”
“You’re pushing it, buddy.”
“Fine. But I’ll be at home all night if you need me,” Michael said.
“I know. Go home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Maria kissed his cheek. The smell of her strawberry lip-gloss filled the air.
“I’ll be fine. I promise.” She said as she drove away.
***
“Hello, Michael. Can I come in?” Tess stood in the hallway outside Michael’s apartment later that night.
“I don’t have time for this,” Michael said. He started to close the door.
Tess put her hand against it. “Just give me half a chance, Michael.”
Michael eyed her cautiously, then opened the door enough to let her squeeze by. “Make it quick.”
Tess walked into the apartment and looked around. “Where’s Maria?”
Michael closed the door behind her. “Not here. She said she needed a little vacation. She’s at her house.”
“Oh… I actually hoped she’d be here with you.” Tess’s mind wandered back to what Nacedo had said to her earlier that week.
“Why?”
She sighed heavily. “I came here to apologize. I had no business acting like that at the Crashdown. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“You think I was?”
Tess picked at her nails. “Well no. It’s just that… this summer it was just you and me.” She could feel the color rising in her cheeks. “And Max and Isabel, of course. I mean, we all got so close because all we had was each other. Now that Maria’s pregnant… I just don’t want anything to come between the four of us.”
“This baby isn’t going to come between us, Tess.”
“And Maria?” She asked. [Shouldn’t have said that, Tess.] She told herself.
“What about her?” Michael ran his hands through her hair.
“The baby is one of us, but she’s not.” [Shouldn’t have said that either.]
“You’re wrong,” He said curtly. “She’s been in this since the beginning. And she’s carrying my child. That should account for something.”
“Michael--” She looked down at her feet.
“No, Tess. You said you were here to apologize and here you are, talking shit about Maria again. What is with you?”
“Michael…” Tess stammered. “Listen… I’m not… I mean…”
“What, Tess?”
She looked back up at him. His eyes were flashing. She exhaled loudly and looked away again. “You’re right. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
Michael snorted.
“I’m sorry.” She reached out to touch his arm but he pulled away.
“You still have to apologize to her, you know.”
“Maria? Yeah. I intend to,” She said in a pained voice. “You really love her, huh?”
“Yeah,” He said without hesitation.
“Yeah,” Tess repeated quietly. She perked up suddenly. “Listen, I should go. Maybe I should stop by Maria’s later?”
“I don’t think that would be such a good idea,” Michael said, shaking his head. “But, uh, if you did, could you check on her for me? Just to see how she is.”
Tess smiled a little. “Yeah, sure.”
“Yeah, okay.” He opened the door and she walked out. “Goodnight, Tess.”
“Goodnight, Michael.
She watched as he closed the door behind her.
***
[I should call her.] Michael thought as he flopped onto his couch. [No. I’m not going to call her. She wants to be alone so I’ll leave her alone. It’s only one night. She’ll be fine. He took a swig of the soda in his hand. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I worried? I shouldn’t be worried. She’s probably taking that bath right now. Yeah. Just sitting there. Naked. Alone. Water running all over her…] He ran his hands through his hair. [I gotta stop doing that. But I shouldn’t worry about her. Nothing to worry about anyway. She’s fine. The baby’s fine.] He took a slice of pizza out of the box on his table. [Besides, it’s time for Win Ben Stein’s Money.] He turned on the TV and clicked around. [Huh. Baywatch.] He licked his lips and could almost taste strawberry gloss. [Maybe I should stick with Ben.]
***
This would be easy.
He expected the hatchling to be there. That would have caused problems. But no one else was there. It was just the two of them. He smiled at that thought.
She was alone in her bedroom. Her didn’t even hear him come in. She’d left the window open, the stupid little bitch. Must have been expecting the hatchling. He took his time and watched her for a while. He wanted to savor this. Tess had done well in informing him as to her whereabouts. But Tess never said it would be this easy.
He lost track of time. The girl was pretty; he had to give her that. He could see why the hatchling would be interested. She put on lip-gloss and he wondered how her lips would feel beneath his. He wondered how she’d feel beneath him. She was probably tight as hell. He wondered if she would scream. Or if she’d bleed.
But she was human. Not worth his time. And she was carrying the hatchling’s child. He’d have to rectify that mistake.
She was human. Get rid of the humans and the hatchlings will have no one to turn to but him. Get rid of the hatchlings and their race would suffer and his race would thrive.
She had to die. It was simple as that.
She didn’t hear him. She walked over to her mirror and brushed her hair. Started humming some silly lullaby.
Poor girl.
She didn’t even have a chance to scream.
***
“Tess?” Michael asked.
The girl pushed her way into Michael’s apartment and looked around.
“You look like hell. What are you doing here again?” He asked.
“You have to find Maria. You have to find her now.”
“What?” Michael could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Why? What happened to her?”
“Please,” Tess begged, “You have to find her now. He’ll hurt her. He’ll hurt the baby. Please go.”
He grabbed her arm. “Who? Who’s going to hurt her?”
“It’s Nacedo.” She said breathlessly.
“Nacedo? Why would he hurt Maria? He’s trying to protect us. I don’t understand.”
“Listen, this probably won’t make any sense right now, but Nacedo has been trying to hurt you and Max and Isabel all along. He and I… we’re your enemies. We found out about you three and we’ve been hunting you for years. We’ve been using mind control to get you to trust us. That destiny thing was all a lie. He wanted to kill you three, Michael, but now that Maria’s pregnant… he thought it might be better if he gave you a warning.”
“A warning?” Michael’s eyes widened.
“He’ll kill her, Michael. Please go to her.”
He snatched her arm again. “How do I know that this isn’t a lie? You’ve been lying to us all this time. If what you’ve said is true then why should I trust you now?”
“I’ve never had a family. Nacedo sees me as an orderly or something. Not a daughter. You and Max and Isabel have actually accepted me. And my feelings for… my feelings are more complicated than I ever thought they’d be.”
Michael eyed her suspiciously.
“You have to believe me, Michael,” She said. “You just have to.” She touched his face gently and Michael could see everything. He saw Tess running back to Roswell to find him. He saw Nacedo snatching Maria out of her bedroom and dragging her away.
He couldn’t hear anything.
There was no sound.
Maria did not scream.
Tess dropped her hand. “After I left here the first time I told him where Maria would be tonight. I didn’t think he’d really harm her. But I followed him and I saw him take her. He will kill them, Michael.”
Michael backed towards the door. He turned to face her again before he left.
“I was only jealous. I never wanted this… You have to believe me. But even if you don’t, you can hate me later. Just go now.”
He heard Maria’s silence as he ran.
***
“That’s really strange,” Liz said as she put down the telephone receiver.
Alex, Isabel and Max turned their attentions to the brunette behind the counter.
“What’s up?” Alex asked.
“I just called Maria to see if she wanted to go to the movies with us. No one answered and she said she’d be home all night.” Liz replied.
“Oh,” Alex said. “Well that’s not so bad. Maybe she’s in the shower or something.” He turned his attention back to Isabel.
“You know, she probably went over to Michael’s after all,” Max said. “He’s so protective of her. He probably just didn’t want her out of her sight and she probably went along with it just to avoid a fight.”
Isabel chimed in. “Maria? Avoid a fight with Michael?”
“That is pretty unlikely, Max,” Liz said. “It doesn’t matter though. You guys are probably right.” She picked up a broom and started sweeping.
“Yeah. And could you hurry up and close this place, Liz? We’ll be late to the movie.” Alex said.
“You know, if you wanted this done faster, you could help,” Liz said matter-of-factly. “And I’m so sure that you two aren’t going to be paying any attention to the movie anyway.” Liz winked at both of them.
She went over and started sweeping by the entrance. Michael nearly knocked her down when he burst through the door.
“Have you seen Maria?” He panted.
“Maria? No. Why?” Isabel asked.
“She’s in trouble. She’ll get hurt. You have to help me find her.”
Liz came out from behind the door and faced Michael “Wait. You’ve gotta slow down. What’s happened?” She asked.
She was the closest, so she was the one he reached out to. Michael grabbed her arm desperately. Liz’s mind was instantly filled with images of Maria, Nacedo, and Tess.
~“We’re your enemies… he gave you a warning… He’ll kill them, Michael.”~
Tess’s words rang in Liz’s ears.
Max watched as the color drained from Liz’s face.
Something was wrong.
“Oh no.” Liz whispered. Michael dropped her arm.
“I’ll explain the rest later,” He said. “She needs me. I have to go to her.”
Liz was motionless.
“All right. Liz and Alex can look around town. Isabel can stay here. And I’ll come with you,” Max told Michael.
“No. You stay with Liz. Alex can stay with Isabel. I don’t want him getting any other ideas. I’ll go check my place and Maria’s.” Michael said. He turned to run to the door.
Max pulled his arm. “Michael--”
“I’m going alone, Maxwell.”
Max could feel Michael trembling beneath his hand.
Max dropped his hand. Michael ran out of the café. Liz and Max got in the jeep and sped towards town. Alex and Isabel remained at the counter.
“What just happened?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know. Something is not right, Alex.” Isabel got up and walked around the counter. “What do you think Michael meant when he said that he didn’t want someone getting any other ideas?”
Alex shrugged his shoulder. “Sometimes really I wish I could read minds. Never thought I’d say this, but where is Tess when you need her?”
***
Her window was open. It was the first thing he noticed. The lights were still on and her car was still in the driveway. He almost let himself stop worrying.
He climbed in the window and looked around. He couldn’t hear anything. No shower running. No laugh tracks coming from the TV. No happy Maria music blaring. Nothing. It didn’t feel right.
He must have called her name a dozen times. He expected to see her in the kitchen eating ice cream just like she said she would. No one else was in the house.
He told himself that she was just over at his apartment. Maybe she’d taken a walk or something. She was probably looking for him right now. He’d go over there and find her and she’d be fine. He would cuss her out for scaring him and wring Tess’s neck and then everything would be fine.
He slipped on something as he was letting himself out. He felt glass crunch beneath his shoe. He lifted his foot and saw the shards of glass lying in an oily puddle.
It smelled like Cyprus oil.
He found Maria’s keys and took her car. He took the shortest path between Maria’s and his apartment. He drove as fast as he could.
***
He found her in his bed. The blue light of the moon outlined her. He could just barely make her out. He let himself breathe a sigh or relief and he walked towards the bed.
He could hear something. Barely. He told himself that it was radiators hissing and then remembered that it was still too hot to have them running at all. It sounded like breathing. Shallow. Ragged. Barely audible.
It was coming from her.
He let his eyes adjust so that he could see her more clearly in the darkness. He stepped towards her. He reached the doorway: he saw the yellow-black bruises beneath her eyes. He moved closer: he saw the cuts that covered her face, her arms, her legs. The floorboards creaked: he saw the dried blood that matted her golden hair. He reached the foot of the bed: he could saw the blood spotting her pants and pooling between her legs. He came up to her. He leaned over her. He saw silver peeking out from under her shirt. He pulled it up and saw the handprint on her belly.
“Oh,” His voice broke. He fell to his knees beside her.
She jerked and looked up at him. “Michael?” The corner of her mouth tore when she whispered his name.
“Shh… shh… don’t speak.” He put his hand to her cheek. She flinched beneath his fingertips. She bled onto his hand. She bled everywhere. And the handprint was smeared across her belly.
[No.]
“Michael,” Her lip split and bled. “Our baby.” She reached out to touch him. “I hurt so bad. It’s the baby. Please. Our little girl.” She brushed her hand across his face. She turned away from him. She closed her eyes.
[No.]
He shook her a little.
[Don’t.]
He gathered her into his arms carefully. “Come on, baby.”
***
She was a mass of color.
Silver and gold. Green, white, and red. The handprint. Her hair. Her eyes. Her skin. Her blood. Everything mixed together. She didn’t look real. She didn’t look human. She didn’t look like Maria.
Michael didn’t look at her. He couldn’t look at her. He was too busy trying to get help for her. He found Max, Liz, Isabel, and Alex back at the Crashdown. They could help her. They could save her.
Everything was mixed up. He carried Maria into the café. He saw and heard the reactions of those around him. He looked at her for himself. His reaction was the same as everyone else’s. His terror and Max’s were one in the same. His screams were indistinguishable from Liz’s. Only his thoughts were his own.
[Maria... Our baby.... I’ll kill him.]
They took his pixie girl to a bed in a back room; same bed he stayed in when he was sick. He wished that he were lying there in her place now.
He couldn’t speak clearly. He repeated himself in his mind. [Maria. The baby. Save Maria. Save the baby.]
He saw he come in out of the corner of his eye. He saw blonde wavy hair and pale skin. He wanted to hurt her. He heard her gasp when she saw Maria. He wished that Tess was in the bed instead of Maria.
He felt Max take his hand. Max said that it would take all of them to heal Maria. He cringed when Tess took his other hand.
***
Maria screamed.
She did not scream when Nacedo took her. She didn’t scream as his knuckles dug into her face and her belly. He called her bitch, whore, mother of a half-breed. He took Michael’s face more than once as he hit her. He attacked her and her baby. She did not beg him for her life. She did not scream in fear or pain. She would not give him the satisfaction.
She wanted to run to Michael when she saw him standing in his doorway. She wanted to cry out when he realized that she was hurt. She called his name softly. She didn’t cry out even though it felt like her insides had been ripped out. She had to be strong for him.
She barely moved when they healed her. Light flooded the room. She watched her cuts and bruises disappear before her eyes. She saw images of all of them: images of her lover, images of her friends, images of Tess. Michael was instantly at her side when the light dissipated. She smiled up at him, to put his mind at ease, but said nothing.
The ache in her belly was still there.
She saw the hurt in Michael’s eyes and the worry in Max’s and screamed.
The pain in her belly worsened and she screamed. She screamed with each contraction. She screamed and knew that her baby was already dead. She screamed as she delivered her daughter.
And then she fainted dead away.
***
Liz found him sitting at the counter. “Michael?” She asked shakily.
He said nothing.
“Michael, please talk to me.”
He stared at the napkin holder in front of him. He’d run away from her again. He’d run out of the room as soon as she passed out. He didn’t know what else to do. His daughter was dead. His… Maria was unconscious. He had to get out of there. He had to run.
“Max says that Maria is fine. She passed out. That’s all. She’ll be fine.” Liz walked up to him and touched his shoulder lightly.
“Don’t touch me.”
Liz dropped her hand. “Michael--”
He flew to his feet. “Don’t even start, Liz. Don’t try and tell me that you know how I’m feeling, because you don’t. You have *no* idea.”
“Michael, I’m not saying that I know how you feel.”
“Good. Just don’t start with your sentimental shit.”
“What?”
Michael paced beside the counter. “Poor Michael. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay,” He said mockingly. “Don’t give me that. Everything will not be okay. My baby is dead, Liz. She didn’t even get the chance to live. And I didn’t do a thing about it.”
“You couldn’t have known. It’s not your fault.”
“It is my fault! I should have stayed with her. I *knew* that something was wrong. I knew it and I didn’t do a damn thing.”
“You tried. We all tried.”
“I didn’t try hard enough.” One tear escaped the corner of his eye and coursed down his cheek. He flicked it off before Liz had the chance to see it.
“You’re only human, Michael.”
He snorted. “If I was human, this never would have happened.”
Liz sighed. “Okay, so you’re not human. You’re not God either. You couldn’t do anything.”
“I could have!”
“The baby was already dead, Michael! She was gone before we even had the chance to save her and there’s *no* way she could have survived. The damage was already done.”
Michael looked her squarely in the eyes. “Get out.” He said icily.
“No.”
“I said get the hell away from me.”
“I love her too, Michael!” Liz yelled. “Look, Maria is my best friend and you know as well as I do that she’s going to need all of us now.”
“She won’t need me,” He whispered. “I let our baby die.”
“She’ll need you most of all, Michael. She loves you. You know that. But how are you going to help her when you’re a wreck?”
“And how am I supposed to feel, Liz?”
“The same way everyone else feels. You think that you and Maria were the only ones who lost something just now? I loved the baby too,” She sniffed. “I was supposed to be Auntie Liz. Maria and I would have gone shopping for baby clothes and baby things. I would have thrown the baby shower. I probably would have knitted booties, for all I know.” Liz brushed tears out of her eyes as she walked towards him. She looked straight at Michael. “I love them both. And believe it or not, I love you too. My first priority is Maria. I’m going to help you because I know it’ll help her. And because I know you’re gonna need someone to lean on right now, even if you won’t admit it.” She touched his shoulder.
Michael sighed. “It’s just…” his voice broke.
“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that we’re here for the both of you.” Liz said. She sighed heavily. “Listen, now that you’re down here you might as well stay down here. I really don’t think that you should go up there right now. Max and Isabel are… they’re getting Maria… and the baby…” She fumbled with her words. Tears flowed down her cheeks.
“I know,” Michael said.
“Yeah.”
She started to walk away.
“Liz?” Michael called softly.
“Yeah?”
“Can…” He bowed his head. “Can you stay for a while? I mean, if you think that Maria needs you then you should go but if not… I mean…”
Liz reached out to him. “Come here.”
She held him. She petted his spiky hair and cried in his arms. She pretended not to notice as he cried in hers.
***
“She’s awake.”
Michael’s face was the first Maria saw. The first she looked for when she opened her eyes. He sat beside her on the bed.
“Michael?” She said groggily.
“Hey…” He whispered. “You gave us quite a scare. Don’t ever do that to me again, okay?” He tried to smile. He needed to be strong for her.
“Michael…what happened?”
Max and the others left the room. Michael turned away.
“You don’t remember?” He asked softly.
Maria’s face grew pale. “Yes. I remember. I just… I just need to know.”
“Know what?” He reached for her hand. She was so cold. There were no scars, no signs of any damage at all. But she was still cold. And still so pale.
“I can’t--” She started.
“We healed you and you’re gonna be fine. You can’t even tell.” He clutched her hand. He turned away as a tear fell down his cheek.
“Michael--”
“Yeah. You’ll be just fine. Everything--”
“I can’t feel the baby anymore,” She said quietly.
Michael ground tears out of his eyes with his fist.
“Michael, look at me. Please?”
He raised his head. He swallowed hard.
“I already know,” She said. She brushed a tear away. “I just need to hear it. Please. I just need to hear it.”
He raised her hand to his lips. One of his tears trickled on to her skin. “She’s gone,” He whispered. “Everyone… everyone tried. We saved you, but… It was too late for her.” He looked up at her. “I am so sorry, baby.”
Maria closed her eyes and wrapped her hand around Michael’s.
“It’s all right. Don’t be sorry. I’m not.”
Michael looked at her quizzically. She pulled closer to him.
“I love you. And I carried your child. We… didn’t have her for long, but we had her. That’s a blessing in and of itself.” She cupped his face in her hands. “I’m not sorry about that at all.”
Michael’s eyes flashed. “But she should still be here. Our daughter would still be alive if it weren’t for Nacedo.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I trusted him.” He looked into Maria’s eyes. “What did he do to you?”
She could almost feel the bones in her face shattering again. She could almost feel his fists digging into her skin again. She could almost feel the baby being ripped from her body again.
Maria looked away. “I was in my room by myself. I was, um, singing to the baby. My mom used to sing me this pretty little lullaby and I was singing it to the baby.” She swallowed hard. “I didn’t even see him. He just grabbed me and dragged me out the door. He must have knocked me out. One minute I was at home, and the next, I was at your place. I don’t remember how I got there. But I woke up and he was standing over me. He had this look on his face.” Maria embraced herself and rubbed her arms. “I thought he was going to rape me,” She whispered.
Michael covered her hand with his.
“He didn’t,” She continued. “He just looked at me. He spat in my face and said I wasn’t worth it. Then he started hitting me.” She looked up at Michael. “What did I ever do to him? Why’d he do this to me?” Maria was in tears.
Michael wrapped his arms around her. “Shh… it’s okay. It’ll be all right.” He took her face in his hands.
“I’ll kill him for this. I swear it.”
Maria dried her eyes. “No. We can’t deal with that. I can’t deal with that, Michael. Not yet.” She brushed another tear away with her thumb. “Just stay here with me for now. Please. Can you just hold me?”
He put his arms around her again. They held each other close as they cried.
***
[He’s going to kill me.] Tess thought. She peeked through the door and saw Michael and Maria asleep in each other’s arms. She sighed a breath of relief. [I’m actually glad she’s all right. I don’t know what I’d do if she wasn’t. That poor baby…] She saw Alex and Isabel curled up on the floor next to Maria’s bed and Max and Liz curled up on the other side. [Michael is going to kill me. I don’t blame him. His baby would be alive if not for me. No… I take that back. Nacedo still would have tried to kill them both. The baby might be dead but Maria’s alive because of me. She sighed heavily. I don’t know what I’d do if anyone ever hurt him. I guess I’d want to kill them too. Maybe… maybe Michael will forgive me. He has to. He loves me. I’m… his sister.] She shook her head and laughed aloud. [Huh… I don’t need to think like that. My mind will get even more messed up than it already is.] She looked over at Michael again. [I might as well be his sister. His sister. Nothing else. They’re all stuck with me now. They’re my family now.]
“I’ll make this up to you,” She whispered. “I swear it.”
She closed the door behind her.
***
Maria’s bed was empty.
That was the first thing Liz noticed after she woke up. She wiggled out of Max’s arms and headed straight for the roof.
She found Maria sitting in her chair, watching the sun rise.
“Maria?”
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” the small blonde said without turning around. “You know, I never get up this early. I haven’t seen the sun rise in the longest time. What time is it anyway?”
“Um… about six I think.” Liz said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Did you sleep at all last night, Maria?”
“Maybe an hour. Michael and I pretty much stared at each other or the ceiling all night. I just, um, I couldn’t sleep, you know.” She picked at her nails.
“Maria--”
“Yeah. So we’ve been sitting out here for a while now. I just asked him to go get me a glass of milk or something. I needed a couple minutes by myself.”
“Oh… Do you want me to go?”
Maria turned to face Liz. “No. You can stay.” Liz couldn’t help noticing the dark circles beneath her friend’s eyes. Maria turned back to the horizon. “I can see why you come up here to write. It’s a good place to be alone with your thoughts. It’s just so pretty.”
Liz sat down beside her. “Maria, are you going to be all right?”
She said nothing. She folded her knees up to her chest and rocked a little. Liz put her hand on her shoulder.
“I want to kill him, Liz.” She was completely expressionless.
“What?”
“We had her for ten days. I told Michael two Sundays ago. We were just getting used to her. And he took her away.” She said flatly. “I forgot about it this morning. I forgot she was gone.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Michael put his arms around me. He put his hand on my stomach and I realized that she wasn’t there. I couldn’t feel her and it was like losing her all over again.”
Liz put an arm around her shoulder.
“Michael has sworn that he’ll kill him. This morning, I almost asked him to do it.”
“You really want that?”
“Yes.” She shook her head. “No. I don’t know. I can’t ask Michael to do that after what happened with Pierce. And I’ve wondered if I could do it, but I honestly think that I wouldn’t have the guts. I don’t know. But I hate him.”
Liz sighed.
“So what does it mean? He killed my baby and he damn near killed me and nothing happens to him. My baby is dead. My mother doesn’t even know that she existed. My friends are hurting. And Michael is completely torn up. He’s angry and upset and it’s almost like he feels guilty about this. He has no reason to feel that way.” Maria stared at the horizon. Her face was unreadable.
“But how do you feel, Maria?”
She inhaled sharply, as if Liz’s question had hurt her physically.
“Maybe I wish that it had been too late for me too.”
***
“Michael?” Max asked. He walked down the stairs and saw his best friend in the kitchen of the Crashdown.
“Good morning, Maxwell.” Michael said as he got a glass out of the sink.
“What are you doing?”
“Couldn’t sleep. Maria and I have been up for a while and she wanted me to get her a glass of milk.” He took a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator and put it back again. “But, uh, two days ago she said that she couldn’t drink milk in the mornings because it made her stomach hurt.” He went to the cupboard and took out some tea bags. “I think I’ll just make some tea or something. She likes tea. Maybe I can put some milk in the tea. Maybe that would be okay.” He looked at Max. “Did you sleep?”
“A little,” He yawned. “How are you both?”
Michael filled the teapot with water. “It was a long night.” He sighed.
“Yeah, I know.”
“It keeps playing over and over in my head. She was fine in the morning at work. Then she tells me that she wants to be by herself for the night and I let her go. Next time I see her, she’s half dead and the baby is gone.” He picked up the sugar. “She told me two Sundays ago. It’s only been ten days.” He shook his head. “And I trusted him.”
“Everyone trusted him, Michael.”
“Yeah, but I thought that he was my family.” He got out a cup and placed the tea bag in it. “He killed my little girl and he tried to kill Maria. I was supposed to protect both of them. I’ll fix it, though. I promised her.”
Max sighed. “What are you going to do?”
Michael poured hot water into the teacup. He looked Max squarely in the eyes.
“I want to kill him.”
***
“We can’t all stay here. “Liz said. “The Crashdown opens in an hour or so.”
Everyone was awake and gathered in the little room. Isabel, Max, Liz, and Alex stood around the bed where Michael and Maria were sitting.
“So what do you suggest we do? And what if he tries something again? I think it’s better if we all stay together,” Isabel said.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “But I see what Liz is saying. Six kids living in the back room of a restaurant would be a little suspicious. We’ve gotta go somewhere else.”
“Where? I’m not going home. I’m not leaving any of you,” Isabel said.
“But what about our parents?” Max said.
“Okay…” Liz said. “Max, you and I can go in to work today and clear our schedules. I’ll cover for Michael and Maria. I’ll say that they’re both sick or something. We can all make up some excuse for staying together for a while. Alex and Isabel, you can both go with Michael and Maria. We’ll all meet up later.”
“Where?” Isabel asked.
“What about Michael’s--” Alex started.
“No,” Michael said. Images of Maria’s bloodied figure flashed before his eyes. “I don’t want to go back there. She doesn’t need to be there.” Michael said.
“And Maria’s house?”
Maria remembered Nacedo dragging her through the door. She squeezed Michael’s hand. “It’s okay,” She said. “We can stay there.”
“But--” Michael started.
“It’s okay. I want to go home.” She turned to the others in the room. “But we don’t need you guys to baby-sit us.”
“I’m not leaving you two, Maria,” Liz said.
“She’s not saying that,” Michael said. “But you guys should try to act normal. We’ll be all right.”
“Michael--” Isabel started.
“They’re right,” Max said. “They need a little time to themselves. But we’re not letting you two alone.” He said to Michael and Maria.
“Yeah, someone needs to stay with you, at least at night.” Alex said.
“We don’t need protection--” Michael said.
Maria touched his hand. “They’re just worried about us. Humor them. Someone can stay in the spare room.”
Michael sighed. “Fine. Who?”
Maria heard the doorknob turn. Michael was the first to see her walk in the room.
“I’ll do it,” Tess said. “I’ll stay with you.”
Max, Liz, Isabel, Alex, and Maria held Michael back as he flung himself at Tess.
“Damn you! Bitch!” Michael writhed in Max’s arms. “Let me go!”
“I’m sorry!” Tess shrieked.
Michael lunged at her again. “Stay the hell away from us!”
“Michael!” Maria screamed. “Stop!”
“I will break your damn neck,” He growled at Tess.
“Michael, please! Maria would be dead if not for her!” Alex yelled.
Michael twisted around in Max’s grasp and faced Maria. “What?” He said.
“Alex is right,” Maria said. “You said she told you that I was in trouble, so you could save me. She’s betraying her father for us. I think that says something.”
Tess cringed at the word ‘father’. Michael tried to shake out from under Max’s grasp.
“She’s been setting us up the whole time! Why should we trust her now?” Michael asked.
“I’m not saying that we should trust her. You know, she’s not exactly the light of my life. But… part of me wants to rip her hair out and the other part of me says that her motives are pure. Something tells me that she really is sorry. I think she’s being honest.”
Maria touched Max’s arm. He let go of Michael.
“So what are you saying?” Michael asked.
“She was partly responsible for saving my life. We might not trust her, but we should remember that.”
Michael glared at Tess. “I don’t like this.”
“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” She said. She looked at Michael and Maria pleadingly.
“I don’t like it either,” Max said. “I don’t want her around you guys. We can all stay. We can just take turns or something.”
“Max--” Tess began.
“You keep your mouth closed.” Michael said. He turned to Max.
Tess looked away. “I’m not going to leave this alone.” She said under her breath.
The others ignored her.
“Come on,” Liz said. “My dad should be opening up this place soon. Let’s all just go.” Liz hugged Maria. “I am coming over tonight. Don’t even try to stop me.”
Maria smiled a little. Tess watched her take Michael’s hand and leave. Max, Liz, Alex, and Isabel followed. Tess watched them go. She brushed away the tears she had been hiding and walked out of the little room.
***
Michael watched Maria sleep. It had been four days since she’d lost the baby. Max, Isabel and Alex had already stayed over and now Liz was in the other room. Just in case. He didn’t know what Liz could possibly do if something happened, but he knew that Maria wanted her there. Liz was making Maria happy and taking her mind off of things for a little while. And if Maria was happy, Michael was happy.
He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her. He could just barely see her in the moonlight.
[You can’t even tell that anything happened.] He thought. [She shouldn’t be going through this.]
She’d been so strong. He was a wreck. She’s been the one holding him while he cried, calming him down when he’d been angry, and reassuring him when his doubts and feelings of guilt had surfaced. He didn’t know how she did it. He didn’t know that she could be so strong.
***
She was falling apart.
Maria woke up after Michael had finally fallen asleep. She wondered if he’d been crying again. She knew that he cried at night sometimes when he thought she was asleep. She touched his face and checked for tear tracks, but there were none. She put her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.
She didn’t know how he did it. He’d been taking care of her. Protecting her. He hadn’t left her side since… the baby was taken from them.
Maria jumped at a noise. [It was probably just Liz.] She thought. She’d been jumping at every strange noise and every shadow she’d seen for days now. She brushed her hand against Michael’s side. [Calm down, girl. It was probably just Liz.]
His faces haunted her. He’d switched faces several times while he beat her. She saw his faces in her dreams. She could almost feel his fist tearing her skin. She could still remember the sound of her own screams as she miscarried the baby.
She slid closer to Michael and shut her eyes. [I gotta go to sleep.] She pulled the covers up around them and drifted off to sleep.
She dreamed of a green eyed little girl with scruffy hair.
***
“Max?” Maria said the next afternoon. She opened the door and let him into the house.
“Hey, Maria.” He looked over her shoulder. “Where’s Michael?”
“Oh he’s in the kitchen making lunch. Do you want me to get him?”
“No, that’s okay.” Max raised an eyebrow. “He’s making lunch?”
Maria smiled a little. “Yeah. He shooed me out of there after I burned some Ramen noodles.” She read the curious look on his face. “I’m a waitress, not a cook. There’s a really good reason for that.” She laughed a little.
Max’s smile faded away. “So how are you doing, Maria?”
“Well… I’m okay. I’ve been better, but two days ago I was a whole lot worse.”
“I can imagine.”
“I don’t know what I would have done without him,” She said, gesturing towards the kitchen. “He’s been really sweet. He’s just a little too protective, though.”
“Yeah. I kinda expected him to answer the door.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I think he’s scared that something else might happen to you. Maybe he thinks that Nacedo’s going to try something else.”
Maria sighed. “I don’t think I’m as fragile as he thinks I am.”
“You’ve been through a lot, Maria. Both of you have.”
“I know. But what’s done is done. Nacedo took our child. He can’t hurt us any worse than he already has.”
“I think you’re wrong, Maria. I think that Nacedo can do a lot worse. And I think that’s what Michael’s really afraid of.”
Max and Maria turned to see Michael coming into the room, eating a sandwich. “Hey, Max. I didn’t hear you come in.” He mumbled.
“Oh yeah. I just stopped by to tell you that I can’t come tonight. Mom and Dad want to have a family night so I’ll have to stay home.”
“That’s okay,” Maria said.
“You sure?” Max and Michael eyed Maria carefully.
“It’s just that we really haven’t had much time to ourselves… in a while,” She said.
Michael nodded. “It’s all right. We’ll be fine, Max.”
***
“Why don’t we get out of the house?” Maria asked later that night. She sat on the couch and looked up at Michael.
He stood with his arms folded. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“Why? We’ve been cooped up here for days.”
“We’ve been out.”
“Yeah, to the Crashdown. Or to see Liz or Max and Isabel or Alex. I love my friends but I don’t need to spend every waking moment with them. And I’m ready to get out of the house. Staying here just… it doesn’t help.”
“You jump, Maria.”
“What?”
“You jump. Every time you hear a strange noise or something, you jump. You’re still scared. It’s too soon. We should just stay here for a while.”
“You’re just as scared as I am. But staying here isn’t working.”
“So we can stay somewhere else. A hotel or something.”
“That’s not home. I need to stay in my home but I don’t need to stay home all the time. Do you understand what I mean?”
“What if something happens?” Michael asked.
“What’s going to happen? I’m not saying that we stay out all night. And I’m not saying that you leave me in some dark alley or something. I know you wouldn’t anyway,” Maria sighed. “Listen, I know you’re worried. It’s really sweet. But I’m not going to break. And Nacedo’s not going to attack me the instant I leave this house. I’m fine, Michael. We’ll both be okay.”
He sighed and flopped onto the couch beside her. “You sure you want to go out?”
“I’m going crazy just staying here all the time. Maybe if we went out, just us, we could get our minds off things.”
“Well what did you want to do?” He grabbed a fistful of Cheetohs out of the bag he was holding.
“How about a movie?”
“Which one?” Michael brushed the orange powered simulated cheese product flecks off of his mouth.
“Well, I’ve seen the previews for this really great roman--”
“No.”
“But it’s--”
“A chick flick.”
Maria sighed. “Okay. What do you want to see?”
“Blood Wars.”
“Oh, great. Another movie where the ending shows the hero and his half-naked woman having sex on top of a pile of severed heads. Sounds like a whole lot of fun.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“I’m not going to see it.”
Michael sighed. “Okay. Let’s do something else.” He crammed more Cheetohs into his mouth.
“We could go for a walk,” Maria offered. Michael scowled. “Okay. Bad idea. Well how about if we go out to eat?”
“Last time I got paid was two weeks ago.” Michael said, reaching for the Cheetohs.
Maria snatched the bag. “Fine. We can stay home. But how about making dinner?”
“You or me?”
“Well I could do it. I think there’s some chicken in the back of the freezer.”
Michael stood up. “After seeing what you did to those Ramen noodles, I don’t want to see what you could do to chicken. I’ll make dinner.”
Maria frowned. “Fine. I’m gonna go to my room.”
“Fine by me.” Michael walked towards the kitchen. Maria followed him halfway there.
“You know, I can make this green bean casserole thingy to go with the chicken. I just have to fry up some onions first.”
Michael faced her and frowned. “Fry up some onions?”
“Yeah. We don’t have any of those crunchy onion things to go on top of the green beans, but I could probably make some. I’ve seen Jose make onion rings at the Crashdown. It can’t be much harder than that.”
A smile spread across Michael’s face.
Maria stood in the hallway with her hands on her hips. “What’s so funny?”
“Go on and go to your room, Maria.” He laughed. “Just go on and go.” He laughed all the way to the kitchen.
***
They were alone.
He’d been watching them since they’d been back at the girl’s house and they’d never been alone before. One of the other children was usually with them. He’d seen the other human girl and the dark haired hatchling leave this morning.
He looked into the girl’s window and smiled to himself. The hatchling had walked out of the room and left the girl alone. She was sitting on her bed, playing with her hair again. Just like last time. She had on different pajamas this time, something with sickening little smiley-faced clouds painted all over it. One of the tank-top straps had slid off of her shoulder. He watched her arm muscles flex as she brushed her hair. The hatchlings had done a wonderful job. There wasn’t a mark on her. No scars, no bruises, nothing. She was almost perfect.
He shook his head and reminded himself that there was no such thing as perfection when it came to humans.
It couldn’t be like last time. They had to know that he was the one who had hurt her before. He couldn’t win their trust now. He’d have to get rid of all of them. And he couldn’t give Tess the chance to interfere again. Tess was such a bright girl and she had been so committed to their cause. Now that she was ‘in love’ she was useless. What a pity. He swore under his breath. He would have to take care of Tess later.
He turned back to the girl in the window. He’d let her live the first time. That was a mistake. There couldn’t be any mistakes now. The girl had to die.
But what good is murder if you can’t have some fun beforehand?
He got in the house easily. Being a shapeshifter had its advantages. He could be practically invisible whenever he wanted. He found the hatchling in the kitchen.
He revealed himself right before he grabbed the hatchling’s throat.
Nacedo’s laughter was the last thing Michael heard before he passed out.
***
“Michael?” Maria called. She stood up and peeked out the door. “I thought I heard something. Was that you?” The hall was dim. She fumbled towards the kitchen and nearly fell flat on her face when she tripped over something.
“Did you drop a pan? I almost broke my neck falling over something.” She fumbled to the light and flicked the switch.
She made a noise when she saw him lying there. It was almost as if someone just pinched her throat shut.
She dove onto the floor beside him. “Michael?!” She shrieked. She shook him violently. “Michael, please!” He was still warm. She put her hand on his chest. His heart fluttered beneath her fingertips.
[He’s alive. He must have passed out. Oh, thank you, Lord.] She prayed silently.
“Michael, wake up,” She pleaded. “Please, baby, wake up!” She slapped him hard.
He did not move.
She heard another noise behind her.
She realized that she was being watched.
She pulled Michael’s head into her lap. “I know you’re here,” She whispered into the dark. “What? You came back to finish the job?”
No answer.
She put her arms around Michael tightly. “Why are you hiding?!”
She heard a laugh behind her. Nacedo’s face emerged from the darkness.
“Looks like it’s just you and me again.” He said, smirking.
Maria leaned over Michael. “What did you do to him?” She growled.
Nacedo smiled. “Nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you, my dear.”
He reached out to her and she saw a flash of light. Her eyes slammed shut. She felt as if she was falling and she thought she’d never hit the ground.
***
Tess opened her kitchen cupboard. “So what’s it gonna be tonight, Tess?” She thought aloud. “Tomato or Chicken Noodle?” She sighed heavily and picked up the can of tomato soup. “Let’s get exotic. Maybe I can pretend it’s Gaspacho. Nah. It’d probably be nasty if it’s cold.” She poured the contents into a bowl and heated them with her hand. She drizzled Tabasco over the soup and laced her glass of juice with sugar. She flopped down on her chair and sighed heavily.
“This is just pathetic,” She said. Her voice echoed through the cavernous halls of her house. “It’s Friday night, I’m stuck in the house, eating alone, and I’m… I’m talking to myself.” She sipped the soup from her spoon. “Gee, Tess… you’d think you’d be used to being by yourself like this.”
She’d always been alone. She never really had a family. She never really had friends. Spending years chasing after Max, Michael, and Isabel prevented her from ever getting the chance to settle down and have a normal life, if having a normal life was possible with Nacedo as a father.
She had to laugh at herself for thinking that. Nacedo was nothing like a father. He wasn’t even like the guardian he’d made himself out to be. Every day before they came to Roswell was the same. She’d go off to a new school where she’d sit by herself at lunch, or sit with some guy who was trying to figure out if she was easy or not. Then she’d go back to Nacedo, who’d rant about closing in on finding the hatchlings. Every month they were in a new city or state. Every month she was in another empty new house. She never got the chance to get attached to anything.
Tess lived in her imagination as a child. She didn’t make friends easily at school, so she made some up in her mind. Anytime the girls at her new school were mean to her, her imaginary Isabel was there to play with her. Anytime the boys teased her, her imaginary Max and Michael were there to protect her. Jeremy Knight shoved his tongue down her throat the first time she was ever kissed. She could remember how angry imaginary Max and Michael were: they didn’t think that Jeremy was good enough for their Tessie. She and imaginary Isabel gossiped about it all night: Jeremy was the cutest boy in the seventh grade. Tess still had her imaginary friends, even as a teen. The more Nacedo chased after the real Max, Michael, and Isabel, the more he pushed Tess away. She had no one but her friends to rely on.
Tess cleared her dishes from her table and left them in the sink. “Might as well see what’s on TV,” She thought aloud. She walked into the living room, flopped onto the couch, and started flipping through the channels. “Game Show… No… Baywatch… No… ‘I’m where you wanna be, he’s coming home to me. Girl, I’m sleeping with your man.’… I’m not in the mood for a talk show either.” She turned off the television and reached for a magazine. “Hmm… Top ten ways to tell if he’s falling for you.” She put the magazine back on the table in front of her.
She fell in love when she was fifteen. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know him. It didn’t matter that he was supposed to be her enemy. She mooned over him for weeks. His name was doodled all over her notebooks. She dreamed of finding him and the others. She thought that maybe, once Nacedo found them, he would change his mind about them. Maybe he wouldn’t be so hell-bent on killing them. After all, they were only a couple of kids and they didn’t even know where they had actually come from. What could they possibly do to hurt an entire race?
She didn’t know how Nacedo found out. He never said anything about it to her. But he was the one who came up with the destiny plan. He said that it would be the best way to get Michael, Max, and Isabel to trust them. Tess was mad at Nacedo for the entire week after he told her about the idea. But she forgot all about being angry after he told her that he’d found the hatchlings.
She hated the idea. She hated having to trick Max, Michael, and Isabel into thinking that they were predestined to love her. But she did as she was told. She had to do it. It was the only way they would ever trust her. Nacedo told her so.
Tess laughed again. [I don’t know why I even listened to him in the first place. Everything is messed up now. They’ll never forgive me for this.]
Nacedo didn’t care about her. He’d admitted as much. When he’d found her, all he saw was another of his kind, someone to help him in his quest to single-handedly destroy the enemy. Tess was convinced that he was crazy. But even if they weren’t really related, Nacedo was the closest thing to a father she had ever known.
But she was so close to having a real family now. She didn’t need imaginary friends anymore. She didn’t rely on Nacedo as much as she had. Michael, Max, and Isabel had actually accepted her. Sort of. All she had to do was show them how much she loved them.
“Enough of this.” Tess jumped off of the couch and grabbed her car keys. “Maybe Isabel will want to go out somewhere.” She left her house and drove towards the Evans’ as fast as she could.
Max answered when Tess rang the doorbell.
“Hello, Tess.” He shifted uneasily. “What are you doing here?”
Tess looked over his shoulder. “Actually, I came to see Isabel.”
“She managed to ditch family night somehow. She and Alex are out stargazing somewhere. I’ll tell her you came by, though.” He started to close the door.
“Wait, Max. Why are you home?”
Max raised an eyebrow at her. “Um… I live here.”
Tess shook her head. “No, I mean aren’t you supposed to be spending the night with Michael and Maria tonight?”
“No. We were supposed to have family night tonight. Mom and Dad wanted me to stay home. Besides, they haven’t had a moment alone since last week. Why do you ask?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she ran to her car and pulled away as fast as she could. Max shrugged his shoulders, closed the door and then went to his room to call Liz.
***
Maria opened her eyes.
[Oh, my head.] She thought. She rubbed her temples. [What happened?] She was in her room, lying flat on the bed. She sat up slowly and looked around.
“You’re awake. Baby, I was so worried.”
Maria twisted around and saw Michael walking towards her.
“Here, I brought you some water.” He sat down beside her and stroked her hair.
“Michael? What happened?” Maria took the glass from his hand.
“You must have had a nightmare. You woke up screaming. You okay, sweetheart?”
“A nightmare?”
Michael smiled. “Yeah. For a minute I thought it was time.”
“Time for what?” Maria asked quizzically.
Michael put his hands on her stomach. His grin got even wider. “Time for little Alexandra Elisabeth Michaela Marie Isabel Maxine DeLuca-Guerin to arrive. That name really covers all bases, doesn’t it?”
Maria looked down and noticed a very swollen belly poking out from under a maternity version of her cloud pajamas.
“The baby?” She covered Michael’s hand with her own.
“Our little girl. She’s due any minute, isn’t she? She was kicking up a storm tonight. I put my hand on your stomach and I could feel her.” Michael looked down at her stomach and smiled. “You two are going to have a great time at the baby shower tomorrow.”
“Baby shower?”
“Yeah. I told the girls that you would be there by six. Is that all right?”
Maria looked around the room again. [What is going on here?] She thought. “Yeah. That’s great, Michael.” She patted his arm.
“You sure you’re okay, darling?”
“I’m… I’m fine. That was just a really strange dream.”
“Want to tell me about it?” Michael cooed.
“Um… no… I’m fine. Really.”
“Well, that’s good. Wouldn’t want anything to upset you,” He patted her stomach. “or you. Now come on, angel, let’s go to sleep.” He kissed her lightly and then rolled over and laid down.
Maria’s hands flew to her mouth.
It wasn’t right.
His kiss left her with a hollow feeling in her stomach. [He’s not the same.] She thought. His kiss didn’t even taste the same. She licked her lips. She did not taste Tabasco.
She scrambled off the bed and ran to the door. “Get up. Now.” She hissed.
Michael rolled over, climbed out of the bed, and walked towards her. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Is it the baby?”
Maria backed away. “Don’t you dare. Don’t even speak about my child.”
“I don’t understand. What is wrong with you, honey?”
[~The day Michael calls anybody honey, it’s all over.~]
Maria looked at him. She looked into his eyes.
They were cold. Too cold. Too dark. Inhuman. She had seen eyes like that before. She knew whom they belonged to.
“You,” She hissed. “What the hell have you done to me?”
Michael shook his head. “Angel, I am completely bewildered here. Why are you mad at me?”
Maria thought for a moment. “Say my name.”
“What?”
“Go on, *Michael.* Say it. Not this ‘honey’ and ‘sweetheart’ shit. Call me by my full name.” She said through gritted teeth.
“Baby--”
“That dream seemed too real. That’s because it’s the truth, isn’t it? How the hell did you do this to me?!”
His eyes went black.
“Hm… thought I’d give it a shot. It almost worked on the dark-haired girl. I figured that it would surely work on you. You’re not quite as bright as she seems to be.” He growled.
Maria rattled the doorknob.
“Door’s locked. Window too. Don’t get any ideas.”
“What did you do to me?” She ran her hands over her face and arms and looked for any cuts or bruises. “How are you doing this?” She wailed. She grabbed at her swollen belly.
“Mind control really is very simple. All you have to do is show a human what they really want to see and they’ll believe anything. Who do you think Tess learned it from, anyway?” He had a crooked smirk on his face. On Michael’s face.
“Take it away.” Maria’s voice was hoarse.
He shrugged his shoulders. “As you wish.”
She dropped her hands to her stomach. She was gone. The baby was gone again. Maria fought back tears.
“You did it again. You son of a bitch. You did it again.” She swallowed hard and ground a few oily tears out of the corner of her eyes.
“Come on now, sweetie. It can’t be as bad the second time around.”
Maria dove towards him. He reached his hand out and she felt herself flying. She slammed hard against the wall.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Maria literally could not move.
He walked over to her. “I only gave you what I thought you wanted. Isn’t that what you wanted?” He leaned over her.
“You heartless bastard, how dare you make fun of me?” Her shoulder blades dug into the wall.
“You silly little bitch, how dare you try to stand in my way?”
“I don’t even know what you mean.”
“My race would benefit if the hatchlings were eliminated. We don’t want anyone to notice they’re gone, now do we?”
Maria laughed nervously. “You’re going to kill me and all the other humans attached to ‘the hatchlings’ just so that no one notices they’re gone after you’ve killed them too? You really have lost your mind.” Maria’s lip quivered as she spoke.
He pushed her harder against the wall. She thought her spine would break. “I haven’t lost anything. I’m just someone who knows what he wants.” She could feel his gaze drag up and down her body. “And I will get it.”
“Take your damn hands off of me.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. What if you try to run away from me? I think it would break my heart.”
“Get the hell away from me!”
“What? You don’t like this? I thought you loved me, baby.” He leaned against her and kissed her neck. She cringed beneath his touch.
“You are *not* Michael.” Maria had to reassure herself of that.
“But you wanted a perfect lover and now you got me. I just wanted to make you happy before I have to kill you.” He brushed his hand up her side and rested them on top of her breasts. “You know, I wouldn’t normally waste my time on a human,” He lifted his head from her neck and looked her squarely in the eyes. “But I think I could make an exception for you.”
She spat in his face.
He sighed. “Oh, *Maria.* I’m only trying to give you what you want.”
***
Michael woke up with a start. He lifted his head from the cool tile of the kitchen floor and looked around.
[Oh, my head.] He thought. He rubbed his temples. [What the hell happened?]
He thought of the face he saw right before he passed out.
[Maria.]
He ran to her room. The door was locked and he heard voices inside.
[Oh no.]
He reached out towards the door. [Please work. Please, please, please.]
The hallway was bathed in light as the door slid from the hinges.
***
And there he was.
Michael saw himself pressed against Maria, pressing against the wall. Maria called out to him when she saw him walk into the room. His other self leered at him for a moment, and then smiled.
“I’ve been expecting you,” The other one said. He turned to Maria. “We’ll have to finish this another time.” He released Maria and sent her flying towards Michael.
Michael caught her in his arms before she had the chance to hit the floor. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
Maria scrambled to her feet; her arms remained in a loop around Michael’s waist. “I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”
“Get out of here,” Michael commanded.
“I am not leaving you.” Maria straightened her back and did her best to look tough.
The other self stood against the wall with his arms folded. “Your concern for one another is really very touching, but can we get on with this?”
Michael moved in front of Maria. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
The other self smiled. “Right now, I’m you. But that can get a little confusing, can’t it?” The other self engulfed himself in blinding white light. He reemerged with Ed Harding’s face. “There. That’s better. A lot less confusing.”
“I don’t care who you look like. You stay away from us.” Michael pushed Maria farther behind him. Maria walked back to stand beside him.
“Sorry. I can’t do that.”
With that, Michael was thrown through the air like a rag doll. He landed hard out in the hallway. Michael groaned and stood up again slowly. Maria’s mouth fell open. She charged at Nacedo and promptly found herself flying through the air, landing near Michael.
“I thought you learned your lesson the first time you tried that,” Nacedo said condescendingly.
Michael snatched Maria’s shoulder and pulled her to her feet. “Are you hurt?”
Maria blinked rapidly, then shook her head.
“Good. I told you to leave!” Michael said.
Maria found her voice. “And I said that I’m not going.”
“How about I make this easier for you?” Nacedo interjected. Maria was ripped from Michael’s grasp and sent flying across the room again. This time, she landed in a closet. The door slammed behind her, the lock clicked, and Maria thumped against the back wall. Michael stood there, in shock, and listened to Maria claw at the door.
“There. That’s better. Now it’s just you and me. I can take care of her later.”
Michael found his voice. “If you lay one hand on her--”
“You’ll what? There’s nothing you can do and the other two hatchlings aren’t here to help you.” Nacedo snarled.
“I trusted you. I thought you were our friend.”
“You thought wrong.”
Michael threw himself at him and ended up on the ground again. Before he had the chance to get up, there was a flash of light that pinned him to the floor, and knocked the wind out of him. Nacedo kneeled beside him, smiling.
“You know, I’m getting really tired of this. And you two talk too damn much. I probably would have killed you even if you’d been a member of the true ‘alien’ race; you annoy me so much. It’s a shame you’re all only a bunch of kids. Maybe you’d have been more formidable enemies if you’d been older. I could have used a workout. ”
“Now who’s talking too damn much?” Michael said in a pained voice.
Nacedo chuckled. “You’re right. Anything you want to say to me before I kill you?”
Michael spat in his face.
Nacedo smiled as the slimy glob of saliva slid down his face. “She did that too. She really is a fighter, isn’t she? Should be fun to find out how much fight she has in her after I get through with her.”
Michael could feel Nacedo’s fingers coiling around his throat as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
***
“Michael!” Maria’s muffled scream came over the tinny sound of closet hangers banging into one another. [Gotta get out of here.] She thought. She snatched one of the hangers from the rack and tried picking the lock. All she ended up with was a twisted hanger. [okayokayokay…] she thought. [Gotta try something else.] She leaned against the door and tried to listen to what was going on outside.
She heard nothing.
Maria started hyperventilating. [Gottagetoutnow!] She thought. [Wait… I know…] She counted slowly. “One… two… three…”
She threw herself against the door.
The lock broke and Maria tumbled out of the closet. She glanced around the room and saw Nacedo hovering over Michael.
[He’s turning blue. He’s choking.]
“Michael!” Maria screamed as she ran towards them. She threw herself onto Nacedo’s back and wrenched his hands away from Michael’s throat.
Nacedo jumped back in surprise. Maria was still latched to him and began pummeling him with her tiny fists. “Stay away from him!” She screeched. She reached around and her knuckles dug into his eye.
Nacedo, howling in pain, reached around and flung her off of him. “Stupid bitch!” He cursed. He yanked her up by her hair and struck her across her cheek.
Michael laid on the floor, struggling to breathe and regain consciousness. His eyes were blurry but he could see Maria attack Nacedo. He winced when he saw Maria’s lip split as Nacedo’s fist slammed into her face. “Maria,” Michael croaked. “Don’t…” Michael rose on wobbly legs. By the time he was standing, Maria was already sailing through the air for the fourth time.
She sailed, headfirst, into the wall. She made a little gasping noise when she landed.
Michael wheezed as he scurried to her and sank to the floor beside her. “Maria?” He coughed. He placed a hand behind her head and lifted her a little. Something warm and wet spread through her hair and dampened his fingers.
[She’s bleeding. Oh no.]
She must have been able read his thoughts. “ ‘s okay… ‘s just a little cut. Doesn’t hurt at all…” She slurred. Her eyelids lowered slowly. “Get outta here, Michael… he’ll hurt you… ‘s okay… I’ll be fine…” She went limp in his arms.
Michael shook her gently. “Maria? Wake up baby.”
She didn’t move. Her breathing was soft and ragged, but not as bad as it was when he found her in his apartment that night. The images of Maria’s battered body flodded his mind again. [It’s just a cut… she’ll be okay. It’s not that bad… She just passed out.] He could still hear the shapeshifter cursing softly.
Michael laid Maria down gently and rose to his feet.
Nacedo was still nursing his eye across the room. “Ow… damn it.” He waved a hand over the bruises and they disappeared. He looked up and was nearly blinded by a flash of light that threw him against a wall.
***
Michael’s wrist snapped when his fist collided with the shapeshifter’s jaw. The skin between his knuckles tore as his fists ripped into the enemy’s flesh. His eyes burned with tears. His ears rang with the sounds of his own screams. He repeated himself in his mind. [Maria... Our baby.... I’ll kill him.] He slammed into Nacedo again and again. He threw the liar against the wall. He threw the murderer to the floor. He raised his good hand and prepared to finish it. To make it up to Maria. To make it up to their baby.
He almost did it. But then the killer spoke.
***
“Go ahead.” Blood and saliva seeped from his mouth as he spoke.
Michael was silent. Nacedo hadn’t so much as fought back while he was hitting him. Now he was trying to talk. He eyed Nacedo cautiously. Something made him listen to the man lying on the floor.
“Go ahead,” He repeated. “Kill me. You know you want to.”
Michael’s right arm hung awkwardly by his side. He bit his lip to keep from passing out from the pain. He couldn’t think about his arm right now. He had to think about Nacedo. [Maria... Our baby.... I’ll kill him.] Michael looked down at him.
“Let’s see…” Nacedo’s cuts faded away as he spoke. “I killed your baby. I will kill your lover if I get the chance. I promise you that. And I’ll kill you, your brother, your sister, and the stupid girl whom you thought was your sister, too. Now don’t you want to kill me first?” He asked condescendingly.
He hovered over the shapeshifter. Michael’s legs felt strangely heavy, almost as if he was rooted to the floor.
“How about I make it easy for you?” Nacedo asked. Light flashed as he assumed another person’s face. Michael looked down into his foster father’s eyes. “There. Now I’m Hank. I beat you for years. I never loved you, I just used you for the check the state gave me. Don’t you want to get back at Hank, Michael? Don’t you want to kill him?”
Michael could barely move.
“Well… that’s okay. I already beat you to it. Oh!” Nacedo feigned surprise. “Didn’t know that did you? Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag. Not that you care. You were always a worthless pile of shit to him. You’re probably glad he’s dead.”
Nacedo shrugged his shoulders and Michael’s hands dropped to his side.
“Well… how about this one?” Nacedo assumed another face. Michael looked down into Agent Pierce’s eyes. “It can’t be as hard to kill someone the second time around, now can it?”
Michael was paralyzed.
“Go on, boy. Kill me. Again. I dare you.”
Michael felt himself falling.
“Aren’t you a man? Can’t you protect your family? Your species?”
Michael felt his head hit the floor. Nacedo’s words floated into his head.
“Can’t do it, can you?”
Michael saw a flash of light. Ed Harding’s face appeared above him. Ed Harding’s hands were instantly locked around his neck.
“I didn’t think so.”
The lack of oxygen lulled Michael in and out of consciousness. His breathing slowed. He could feel his throat being crushed. His eyelids grew heavy and he nearly let them close when he saw someone with wavy blonde hair standing in the doorway.
***
“Nacedo! Don’t!” Tess screamed. She stretched her hand out towards him.
He let go of Michael’s collar and stood up to face her. “Tess, what are you doing?”
“Get away from him,” She said trembling.
Nacedo glanced at Michael, then at Tess. “Oh this is cute. You’re protecting them?”
“Why shouldn’t I? They’re my family now. Leave him alone” Her hand shook as it hovered in the air.
Nacedo stepped towards her. “And if I don’t?”
Tess swallowed hard. “I’ll kill you.”
“You have some nerve,” he said between laughs. “Now go on, get out of here.”
“No.”
“Tess--” He started towards her again.
“No!” A flash of light exploded from her fingertips and Nacedo was knocked backwards. He shook his head and advanced towards her again.
“Don’t!” She screeched. There was another flash of light and Nacedo fell before her. “Please, just leave. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Nacedo smirked. “You are trying my patience.” He tried to stand but he found that his legs were practically cemented to the floor. His mouth fell open and he looked back up at Tess. “How’d you… What do you think you’re doing?”
“Just leave them alone. Just leave us all alone. Please,” Tess begged.
“Who do you think you are?” Nacedo struggled to move. “After all I have done for you, this is how you repay me? I am doing this for you, for me, for our entire race! Don’t you think of anything beyond your hormones? Honestly, Tess, I thought you were smarter than this.”
A tear trickled down her cheek. “Remember what you told me to do if I ever got close enough to Max to get him into bed?” She kneeled down and faced him. “You said that I shouldn’t hesitate. That I should wait until he was sleeping, paralyze him, and stop his heart. You wanted me to kill him and I think I might have. I would have done anything for you. I’ll do anything for the people I love.”
Nacedo was motionless.
Tess leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”
She placed her hand on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat slowing beneath her fingertips. She watched his eyelids droop. It only took a minute for his heart to stop completely. It seemed to take him forever to sink to the floor. He laid there for a moment, completely still, and all she could do was look at him. Then she dissolved into tears and fell beside him.
***
Michael picked himself up off of the floor and cradled his arm carefully. He approached Nacedo and Tess cautiously. “Tess? Is he…”
Tess picked herself up off of the floor, pulled Nacedo’s head into her lap, and started stroking his hair. “He didn’t think I could do it,” She whispered.
“Tess--”
“I didn’t think I could do it either. But I promised I’d make it up to you. I promised I would.” One of her tears dripped from her chin to Nacedo’s cheek. She brushed it away with her hand.
“But, Tess, you didn’t have to… not like this.”
Tess shook her head. “He would have killed you, Michael. You and Max and Isabel. I couldn’t let him kill you. I had to… for you.”
“For me? Tess… I don’t understand.”
“You three are my best friends,” She said softly, still stroking Nacedo’s hair. “You always have been even if you never knew it.” She patted Nacedo and never took her eyes off of him. “And I betrayed all three of you. I hurt you all so badly. Especially you, Michael. Nacedo told me what to do and I did it, no questions asked. I acted like I didn’t even care about you,” She said quietly.
Michael was completely silent.
Tess looked up at him and read the confusion on his face. “Isn’t it obvious? I did this for you, Michael. I wanted to protect you. I am in love with you, Michael.”
She turned back to Nacedo and stroked his hair again.
Michael struggled to find words. “Tess… you’re my sister.”
Tess winced. “No. I’m not. And I’m so sorry I deceived you into thinking like that.” She laid Nacedo’s head down gently and looked up at Michael. “I’m sorry. I should have been honest from the beginning. I tried to stop loving you but I couldn’t. Do you know what that’s like?”
He turned when he heard a quiet noise behind him. The girl lying on the floor groaned and moved a little.
“Tess… I… Maria’s hurt. I gotta help her.” He rushed to Maria’s side.
Tess watched as Michael cradled Maria with his good arm and waited for her to wake up. Tess looked away when Maria opened her eyes.
“Yeah,” She whispered, “I guess you do know what that’s like.”
***
Two days later…
“Your daddy didn’t like the name Alyssa,” Maria said to the sky. She sat on one of the boulders that were several minutes walking distance from the caves. “I don’t see why not. It’s a perfectly good name. As if Maddie is any better.” She smiled to herself. “I don’t think we ever would have agreed on any one name for you. I always liked this one name but your daddy would probably have thought that was stupid too. Oh well,” She sighed. “But you know we’ve got to call you something. We can’t just act like you never existed…” Maria’s voice trailed off.
“I am so sorry, baby. I’d do anything if it would bring you back to us. But… I know that won’t happen. The way you left us… it wasn’t fair. You didn’t get to live for long and we didn’t have you for long at all. But we loved you. And we’ll always love you. I know you’re in a better place now. Much better than rinky-dink Roswell.” Maria laughed. “You’ve got all the space to play and all the peanut butter and pickle sandwiches you can eat. You’d have liked them. I know it. All your daddy ever eats is Cheetohs and chocolate cake with Tabasco sauce. Of course, you’d probably have liked that too. You’d have been the best of both of us.”
Maria hopped off of the boulder. “I’d better go, baby. Your daddy’s probably worried. But I’ll be back tomorrow to see you. We both will. I promise.”
Maria kissed her fingertips and touched them to the stone. “Goodbye, baby.”
She hummed a lullaby as she walked back to the caves.
***
Michael kneeled at the mouth of the cave. He mouthed a silent prayer and laid a small yellow rose on the ground in front of him.
“I love you, baby.” He whispered as he patted the blossom.
He heard footsteps coming up behind him after he’d been alone for a while. He already knew who it was.
“Hello, Tess,” He said without looking up.
“Hello, Michael,” She replied. She walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. “Is that…”
“No. Maria was only three months along. The baby wasn’t…” Michael searched for appropriate words. “Max and Isabel took care of the baby. But we wanted to have a place for her anyway. Even if she’s not buried there.” He looked around the cave. “This is her place now.”
Tess nodded and knelt beside him. “Did you two ever get the chance to pick out a name for her?”
“Not really. We just kinda joked around about it. I was thinking about one name but I’m sure Maria would have hated it. I like the name Madeline too; Maddie for short. Maria said that’s too many M’s. She suggested Alyssa Elizabeth. That’s too many S’s,” He laughed and patted the rose again. “She probably would have ended up with five or six middle names, just to make everyone happy. Little Alexandra Elisabeth Anne Michaela Marie Isabel Maxine DeLuca-Guerin.”
Tess looked at him quizzically. “Anne? That’s my middle name. On official papers, at least.”
Michael looked up at her. “I know.”
Tess blushed and looked away. “Where’s Maria?”
He stood and walked to the mouth of the cave. “She went for a walk a while ago. She said she needed to clear her head or something. She wanted to go alone and there was no use fighting her. Besides… I wanted to be here by myself for a while too.” He looked back at the flower.
He turned his back to Tess. She stood and walked over to him.
“I’m going,” Her voice shook as she spoke. “I’m leaving Roswell today. I’ve already said goodbye to the others. So I’m on my way out. There’s nothing here for me anymore.” She glanced at Michael and glanced away.
He didn’t speak, so she started again.
“You and Max and Isabel are the only real friends I’ve ever had. But I need to go. I’ve been told what to do and who to be my whole life. With fath-- Nacedo gone, I think it’s time that I try and figure out who I really am. I can’t do that here.” She stole another glance at Michael. “There are too many memories of the past. And everything’s already settled. I’ve got the house up for sale; my things are all packed up in my car and… I’ve settled everything with Nacedo. Agent Pierce died accidentally and Ed Harding is missing, presumed dead.” She sighed deeply. “So that’s it. I just came here to tell you goodbye.”
“Where are you going to go?” Michael finally asked.
“We were in Georgia for a while when I was younger. I really liked it there.” She looked at him and looked away. “I guess I should leave.” She waited for his response.
“I could have killed you a week ago, you know.” Michael said, expressionless. “I thought you were my sister but you really aren’t. You said that we were your best friends but you lied to all of us for so long. And you told him where Maria was. I held you responsible for killing my child.”
Tess’s breath caught in her throat.
“But you gave Maria back to me. Twice. And you saved my life. I can’t ever forgive you for the way you treated me, Max, Isabel, and especially Maria. But you saved her life and mine. You went against your father, or whatever the hell he is, for us. I’ll always be grateful for that.” He swallowed hard. “You’ll always have friends here, Tess.” He pulled her into an awkward hug and then pulled away quickly. “I should hate you but I don’t. You’re part of our family now. I don’t think you should go.”
Her heart leapt but she tried to calm down a little. “So what are you saying?” She avoided looking into his eyes. “Do you love me, Michael?”
He thought of Maria. “No, Tess. Not the way you want me to.”
“Then I can’t stay,” She said simply. A tear slid down her cheek. “I can’t love you as a brother. You can’t love me…” Her voice trailed off. She looked up at him. “Can we try to be friends? Maybe you can try to trust me again. And I’ll try… I’ll try too.”
He nodded.
“Okay then. Goodbye, Michael.” She backed away from him quickly.
“Tess?”
“Yeah, Michael?”
“Thank you.”
She ducked her head as another tear escaped her eye. “ Anytime.”
***
Maria saw her running down from the caves. Maria called out as she came closer.
“Tess?” She yelled.
The other girl stopped. She dug the last few tears out of her eyes before she turned around. “Yes, Maria?”
Maria approached her slowly. “You look like you’re in a hurry. You all right?”
“Um… actually, I was on my way out. I’m leaving Roswell today.”
Maria’s face was unreadable. “Oh… I’m sorry to hear that. I know a lot has happened… but why would you leave now?”
Tess glanced away. “I just need to go. I have a lot of things to think about. And I guess I have a chance to start over now. I gotta take that chance.”
Maria’s face dropped a little. “Wait… I’ve said some nasty things about you. I’m sorry about that. I’m not excusing the way you acted and there’s still something about you that something in me just doesn’t like… but… Tess, you saved my life. And Michael’s. And now all I have to say to you is… thank you.”
“Seriously, Maria, you don’t have to thank me. I should be thanking you.”
Maria looked at her strangely. “For what?”
“For making him happy.” Tess nearly whispered.
Maria wrinkled her brows. “There’s some kind of weirdness going on between all you… Czechoslovakians… that I’ll just never understand, isn’t there?”
Tess smiled a little. “Take care of him. Make him happy again.” She looked back towards Michael’s direction.
“I intend to.”
Tess nodded. “Bye, Maria.”
“Bye, Tess.”
***
Michael stood at the mouth of the cave and waited for Maria. She walked up to him and smiled sadly when she noticed the little yellow rose by his feet.
“How was your walk?” He asked.
“It was nice. It’s too hot out there, though. I thought I was about to fall out. But it was nice. I got a lot of thinking done. We should come out here again sometime. Maybe tomorrow.”
Michael looked back at the flower. “Why tomorrow?”
“Because I promised her.”
Michael kneeled down and brushed a few flecks of dirt from the blossom. “We should come back tomorrow then.”
Maria stood beside him. “We didn’t pick a name for her. We probably should…”
“We didn’t really have that long to think of one…” Michael said sadly. “And we never could agree on just one.”
“I thought of one that fits.” They said at the same time.
Maria smiled. “I thought that you were a die-hard Maddie fan.”
Michael echoed her smile. “We can always save that for our second daughter.”
“Second daughter?” Maria asked, blushing. “Shouldn’t I have some say in that?”
“No. I’ve nearly lost you more times than I can count, Maria. I’m not going to risk losing you again.”
She couldn’t hide her smile. “Well… don’t you want to hear my idea?”
“Why? The only one that fits is Angel.”
Maria blinked rapidly, then spoke. “Michael, that’s the name I was thinking of.”
He looked back up at her. “What else could she be? Her mother’s already an angel.”
He stood and she drew him into her arms. He kissed her forehead gently. They held on to each other as if they would never let go. They stood in the cave with their arms around one another, the yellow rose resting by their feet.
***
EPILOGUE
May (years later)…
He woke up in her arms. It was just after dawn. The morning light flooded the room and made it too bright for him to sleep. She was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.
He watched her sleep. She was an angel while she slept. She smelled like Cyprus oil and Wacky Wild Strawberry lip-gloss. Her body laid against his. Her