PART 25 D

Liz had just finished another long day at the Crashdown, and business was brisk. She walked over to the doors and locked them, switching the sign to reflect that they were closed.

A year had passed, and things had gotten back to normal. After the initial unexplainable disappearances, the news people were in a frenzy. But no one was able to find the cause, nor were the people ever found.

Funerals were held. Memorials conducted for those who had seemingly disappeared without a trace. But life slowly returned to normal.

She’d walked miles that day before she’d finally gone to Grand Central Station and bought herself a bus ticket home. Money that had been useless for the past few months suddenly became important as she fished her wallet out of her pack.

She slept most of the way home, for the two days it took her to get to New Mexico.

Her mother had been worried sick at her absence, thinking she’d disappeared like the other people. She’d grabbed Liz as she walked through the door that day, hugging her and yelling at her all at once.

Liz explained that she’d had a mini short-circuit after she and Kyle had broken up, and she’d just decided to disappear for a few days. She hadn’t watched the news and hadn’t heard about what had happened until she’d gotten back to Roswell. She hated lying to her mother, but she knew it was for the best. Her mother was so grateful she was home, thinking she had been one of the mysterious disappearances, that she couldn’t stay angry at her long.

Maria and Kyle were luckier. Kyle lived alone and was back before his Dad really noticed. Maria’s mom had been away on business. Alex’s parents never noticed.

They’d returned two days after Liz did, along with Serena and Doug.

Maria and Liz flew into each other’s arms as she walked into the Crashdown that morning, and they both broke into tears.

Serena and the other half-breeds had made a pact of silence. No one would know of the events that had happened.

They’d known of Isabel’s death. They’d felt it through the connection.

Alex was upset by it, because he knew a part of her that no one else had, and wished that she’d had the life that she’d always dreamed of. But then most of them would never have that.

Except Kyle and Serena. They were married on a warm spring day, to the delight of them all. Despite Maria and Liz’s sadness, they were happy for them, and secretly pleased that at least they would have the chance to be happy.

Alex moved on to a job in California, something he’d always dreamed of, but never had the guts to do. He’d said Isabel’s courage had made him realize how short life was, and that they should all grab the opportunities offered to them before it was too late.

Liz and Maria bid him a tearful goodbye not long after Kyle and Serena’s wedding, knowing that Alex would make a success of himself.

Liz and Maria stayed in Roswell, hoping that Max and Michael would return.

Liz had told Maria what Michael had said, and her eyes grew misty as she smiled wistfully.

“Who would have thought…me and Michael,” she said with a sad laugh, and Liz had wrapped her arm around her shoulder sympathetically. That night, they’d had ice cream, with spoons right out of the carton, just like they used to in high school. They’d laughed, they’d cried, and most of all, they’d talked of the two men that had changed their lives.

They’d had many of those nights since then, as a way to keep Max and Michael vibrant and alive in their minds. It was as if talking about them somehow made them seem closer.

The connection Liz had felt the connection with Max had gone away when the Granolith did. She didn’t want to think about what that meant.

Every day she fought with thoughts that he was dead, that he was never coming back.

But she’d known love, she thought. It wasn’t expected, and it wasn’t easy, but it was beautiful, and she couldn’t be anything but grateful that she’d had it, if only for a short time.

Her mother came out from the back or the restaurant.

“I’m going home sweetie,” she said, and Liz nodded.

Her mother had found love too, in a local store-owner, and she was genuinely happy for her. She lived across town now, and Liz had taken the apartment upstairs. Sometimes at night, she’d sit outside her window staring at the stars for hours, wondering if Max was alive, if he was happy. If he thought of her.

“Don’t forget the lights,” her mother said, planting a kiss on her cheek, and Liz smiled.

“And don’t stay down her cleaning all night. Tomorrow is another day,” her mother scolded lightly.

“I won’t,” Liz said, smiling. She followed her mother into the back to lock the door behind her.

*%*%*%*%%*%*%

Maria sighed as she settled onto the couch to stare at the television for another night of meaningless fluff. Those few months of chaos had changed her forever. Everything, all the things she used to enjoy, seemed so meaningless now.

She flipped the television off restlessly, pulling her legs up on the couch and staring at the ceiling. Was this what her life would be from now on? She knew Liz was going through the same thing. Michael had changed everything for her.

He’d made her feel safe. He’d made her realize that beings were the same in so many ways, regardless of what planet they were from. And he made her realize what love was. She’d heard it from his lips only once, but those words meant more to her than anything, because she knew what it took for him to say them.

Sighing, she started to sing a song that had been stuck in her head for the past few days. It reminded her of him.

someone's late. i'll wait.
in time, time will show.

someone's cashed in. chances are where chips fall.
someone's sunset is someone's moonrise.
someone's red lips speak to someone's blue eyes.

and some may run. and some know fear.
and some wade in a while and let the murky waters clear.
and some just smile…

A knock at the door interrupted her singing, and she sat up, wondering if Liz was feeling quite as lonely as she was tonight. It seemed they were in tune with their moods most of the time.

She plodded over to the door, calling out to her friend.

“Lizzie, I told you you’d give in. The Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t take no for an answer,” she said opening the door.

She frowned as she looked over the yard. There was no one there.

She was about to swing the door shut, when she glanced down and saw something on the porch. She knelt down and picked it up.

She gasped and her eyes filled with tears as she saw what it was. A beautiful sketch of her. She smiled.

“I drew a lot of those,” a voice said, and she raised her head, unwilling to believe that it was true.

But her eyes didn’t deceive her. There he stood at the curb in a leather jacket.

“Michael?” she said, standing up, and she saw him smile.

“Michael!” she shouted as she ran barefoot across the lawn, jumping into his arms. He stumbled back slightly with the force in which she’d hit him.

“Michael,” she whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks as her hands moved to his face.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Oh my God,” she said as she threw her arms around his neck, her hands tangling in his long hair.

She felt his hands running smoothly across her back, and she shut her eyes tightly, praying that this wasn’t a dream.

“You’re really here, right?” she asked. “This isn’t a dream?”

“Yeah, I’m really here,” he said, his arms tightening around her.

For a long moment he held her close, and then gently set her down.

“We should probably…” he paused motioning toward the house.

“Oh yeah,” she said quickly, taking his hand. “Come in.”

She led him into the small house, shutting the door behind her before stepping closer and pulling his head down to hers. Her lips moved over his gently, and immediately, his mouth asked for more. Their tongues dueled as kiss grew deeper, their breathing uneven.

Finally, she broke the kiss, resting her head against his chest. He gently stroked her hair.

“When did you get back?” she asked.

“Just a little while ago. I came straight here,” he said.

His hand slid around her neck.

“God I missed you,” he said. “Sometimes I thought that I was never going to get back here, that I’d never see you again.”

“I was starting to wonder myself,” Maria said breathlessly. “You’d been gone so long, and I was thinking that something happened.”

“A lot happened,” Michael said, “but I don’t want to talk about that now.”

Maria nodded, running her hands up and down the arms of his jacket, still trying to convince herself that this was real.

“Maria, I’m sorry that I left without saying goodbye, I…” he was silenced as she put a finger to his lips.

“You’re here, and that’s all that matters,” she whispered.

He leaned down to capture her mouth once again, sucking on the full ripeness of her lower lip.

“I missed this,” he breathed, and she nodded wordlessly, tracing his lips with her tongue.

“I missed you,” she said, kissing him again, as she felt him squeeze her waist. “Everything’s been different since you left.”

“I was going crazy up there,” he said, kissing her back. “It’s nothing like I thought it would be. It was like, my whole life I wished that I could go home, and when I got there, I realized I had been home all along. I didn’t belong there. But I didn’t belong anywhere, until you. You made this place home.”

She smiled up at him, taking his hand, leading him to the back of the house.

His look was questioning, and she stopped.

“I think we’ve waited long enough,” she said.

He paused for a moment, and then she tugged on his hand, leading him into the bedroom.

“Maria, I…” he started.

“Shhh…,” she said. “Just let it happen, Michael.”

His hand moved to the back of her neck, cupping it gently as he pulled her close.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” she answered, her eyes telling him everything he needed to know.

Tenderly, his lips met hers, as she slid his jacket from his arms, letting it drop to the floor. His lips trailed down her neck and she sighed, pressing her hands against his chest, feeling the quickening of his heart.

He shivered as she pulled his t-shirt up and over his head, throwing it to the floor.

His finger traced a path down the side of her neck, to her collarbone, to the neckline of her shirt.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, and she blushed.

Her hand reached up to tug on a lock of his hair.

“It’s gotten long,” she said, with a smile, and he shrugged self-consciously.

“I think I like it,” she said, running her fingers through it.

“There weren’t any barbers up there. Antarians don’t have hair,” he said, with a chuckle.

“Oh…” Maria said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “So does that mean you’re going to need the “Hair Club for Men” somewhere down the road?”

“Shut up,” he laughed and then suddenly became serious.

“Maria, if you’re afraid…” he started to say.

“Kidding, Michael,” she said, wrinkling her nose at him.

“Yeah, I forgot about your warped sense of humor,” he said wryly, and she lightly smacked his arm.

“You know you love it,” she laughed.

“Yeah, I do,” he whispered, his velvet brown eyes staring intently at her, and her laugh faded, as she noted the seriousness in his face.

“I love you too,” she said, her palm cupping his cheek.

Michael lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bed, laying her gently in the center of it, moving to lie beside her.

His fingers trailed down her arms lightly, and she shivered.

“Can I show you something?” he said quietly, his eyes shining with the fear that she would reject him.

She nodded.

“What is it?” she asked, as he cupped the sides of her face with infinite tenderness.

“I know you were upset that Alex told me, but I want you to know…”

“Michael, I’m not upset about that anymore. I got over that a long time ago,” she protested.

“I know, but…” he paused, unsure of the words.

“I’m just going to show you,” he said. “Just look at me, and clear your mind.”

She nodded imperceptibly as she searched his eyes.

For a moment, she thought she was flying through space at the speed of light.

A myriad of images, like still photos and home movies passed through her head. They were movies from Michael’s mind, and she felt what he felt through each one.

She felt his loneliness on the first day of school, seeing that he wasn’t dressed like the other kids.

She felt his isolation as he watched them play from a distance.

And then he found Max and Isabel, and for a time, that loneliness went away.

But there were other things to deal with. Moving from home to home, until he was placed with Hank. Hank had a drinking problem, and a penchant for taking his frustrations out on Michael’s face, over any trivial excuse he could find.

Maria felt every bit of unhappiness and frustration he felt as he allowed him to beat him, taking it without a word, running from the trailer when it became unbearable.

She saw him sitting in a large drainpipe, the rain sheeting outside of it, silently crying, knowing there was no one who cared.

She watched as he began to crawl into Max’s window to sleep on the floor on Hank’s bad nights, and how he hated Max’s look of sympathy.

She felt his itch to get out of Roswell and away from every bad memory made there. But New York didn’t make things any better. He wished that they could find a way home, to Antar, to where they belonged.

She sensed his fear as the red virus spread through the city, a fear that was not put to rest until he found Max and Isabel in the rubble of the apartment.

For the first time, she truly understood his initial mistrust. They couldn’t afford to let people in. Their very lives depended on their great secret.

But then she saw herself, herself in his eyes. How almost against his will he fell for her, with her wise-cracks and drama, the smile that he thought was the most amazing thing he’d ever see again. And then there was fear for her, fear that he wouldn’t be able to protect her.

Through his eyes she saw herself being attacked, and the rage that rose in her heart was unimaginable, just as it had been for him. To hold her after that, to hear her tell him that she loved him seemed like a dream, and yet he knew it was not. It was real. She was real, the first real thing he’d had.

A sense of acceptance fell over her as she relived his realization that he loved her, as afraid as he was to say the words.

A crystal clear picture of the last time he saw her in Washington, tears in her eyes, appeared in her mind. Ever emotion, the worry that he wouldn’t be coming back, that something would happen to her, to Max, to Isabel, filled her heart, and she felt the same deep despair and fear.

Vague flashes of Antar passed quickly before her eyes, dark and fuzzy, and she had the distinct sense that this was something he wanted to pass over. Something that he did not want to dwell on.

“I love you Maria,” he said, and she was gone from his world, again lying on the bed, and his thumbs were stroking her cheeks, brushing her tears away.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Me,” he whispered. “I wanted you to see me.”

She nodded, biting her lip.

“Thank you Michael,” she said quietly, “and I love you too.”

She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around his neck. His nose brushed against her cheek, barely touching her skin, and she felt a tear fall against her neck.

“Are you home now? For good?” she asked.

He pulled away from her, looking down into her eyes.

“Yeah, for the first time, I’m home,” he said, and she smiled, leaning closer as his lips closed over hers.