Roswell Fanatics

“What do you mean he stayed there?” Kate demanded, staring at Charlotte in disbelief. “He can’t just stay in Colorado; he has a life here.”

“No,” Charlotte disagreed, “he has a house and a few friends here but his life is there. He’s following his heart, Kate, and I don’t think we have any rights whatsoever to deny him that opportunity.”

“He’s your best friend; are you telling me you’re fine with him just pulling up stakes and moving away?”

“I’ll miss him but he’s got a chance to get his life on the right track with the woman he loves and I won’t stand in his way.”

“How do you even know the kid is his? This woman could be – “

“Don’t go down that road, Kate,” she warned.

“He has a contract with both of us.”

“He’ll fulfill his obligations.”

“Yes, he will.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes and wondered if Kate would do something rash. It wouldn’t be the first time the agent had chased after one of the artists she handled because she thought they were making a mistake.

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“Did you tell her where I’m stayin’?”

Maria looked up from the salad she was putting together to glance at the man standing beside the open window, his hard gaze focused on something only he could see. He had started to pace, a sure sign that he was agitated.

For the past two weeks they had been getting reacquainted, relearning each other’s quirks; the things they had loved and the things that had driven them crazy. It had been an interesting two weeks, filled with things that had been surprising as well as things that had been so familiar it had seemed like no time had passed at all. There had been several arguments but they had been dealt with as quickly as they had cropped up; they hadn’t lasted for weeks the way they had before and she had been grateful for that.

Maybe they had both done some growing up while they had been apart, she thought.

“What’s wrong?” she asked when he hung up.

“That was Charlie; she thinks Kate might be thinking ‘bout comin’ down here.” He ran a hand over his face and sighed raggedly. “Apparently she’s havin’ a fit over contractual obligations.”

“Why?”

“Who knows? There’s no reason for her to be worried; I had plenty of sculptures crated and ready for shipment before I left and Charlie has a key to the place so if she gets low on stock all she has to do is call Leo and he’ll meet her over there and load them for her.”

“So what happens when she runs out of stock?

Michael hid a smile, easily reading between the lines of the question that had been asked in such a nonchalant tone of voice. It was the one thing they hadn’t really discussed: what would happen when he had to go back to Seattle? He had told her if he left it would be her decision but he knew she hadn’t believed him. Oh, he knew she wanted to believe he was there for good but he also knew she wouldn’t just blindly trust him like she had in the past. He knew she wanted to but she had to weigh her decision carefully and do what was in their son’s best interest. Having Alex had forced her to grow up a lot faster than she should have but he hadn’t once heard her complain.

“You’ll be going back to Seattle.”

He cursed himself for letting her question go too long without an answer. On the other hand, she had just given him the opening he had been waiting for. “Is that what you want?”

“What I want is for my son to have a father he sees more than every other weekend and a couple of weeks over the summer. I don’t want to spend the next seventeen years fighting over who gets him on what holidays and – “ She blinked in surprise when Michael suddenly appeared in front of her, placing a finger over her lips to stop the rush of words.

“I didn’t ask what you want for Alex,” he said quietly. “I wanna know what you want.”

It seemed like all higher brain functions ceased to exist and rational thought flew out the window when he touched her. She shook her head and backed away from him, moving across the room to put necessary distance between them.

Michael frowned at her actions but ignored the impulse to follow her. “Maria, you gave up everything to have Alex and God knows I don’t have any right to demand anything after I walked out on you but I want you to tell me what you want.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “It’s not wrong to want something for yourself. It’s easy to see that you give that little boy everything you’ve got and you don’t do anything without first thinking about how it’ll affect him but you’ve gotta think about yourself too.”

“Your whole life is in Seattle.”

“Let’s forget about geography for a minute, okay? Where I reside isn’t relevant.”

“But your job – “

“Isn’t relevant.”

“Your friends – “

“Also not relevant.”

“I don’t understand what you want from me.” Confusion colored her voice and she shook her head when he crossed the room. He didn’t stop until he was standing in front of her and her heart started pounding so hard she imagined he could hear it.

“Tell me what you want.”

“I want it all,” she said suddenly, her tone defiant. “I want you to love me, I want you to stay, I want to marry you, I want a couple more kids, I want to pursue a career in music, I want you to do the shows your agent’s been hounding you about so people can see the man behind the art…” She paused and shrugged, looking away from him. “Like I said, I want it all.”

“Can you get tomorrow off?”

“What?”

Where had that come from? she wondered. Probably shouldn’t have hit him over the head with the entire list all at once.

“Come with me to Seattle for the weekend.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m asking you to,” he said simply. “I’m asking you to trust me.”

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“Trust him?” Kyle asked in disbelief. “You’re tellin’ me he asked you to trust him and you’re just gonna drop everything and fly to Washington with him?”

“Kyle, he asked me to trust him.” Maria stared at her brother, waiting for his response.

“Yeah, and look where that trust got you last time.”

Shocked silence fell over the room and he winced. “I’m sorry, Maria; I didn’t mean that.”

“Y’know what? I’m not interested in getting into this with you.” She turned to leave the room. “We’re leaving in two hours and I have to pack.”

“I know, I know,” he said before his fiancé could tell him how wrong he was. “But before you get mad at me you need to remember that he’s the one who got her pregnant and then walked out on her.”

“And you need to realize that if she can forgive him then you really have no right to stay mad at him. She wants to put the past behind them, Kyle, and you need to step back and let them do things their own way.”

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Maria stretched and rolled onto her side, opening her eyes to look around the unfamiliar room. It had been late when they had gotten in the night before and she had barely kept her eyes open long enough to get from the airport to the rental car Michael had reserved. She didn’t remember the drive to his house or actually getting out of the car and coming inside which meant that he must have carried her. Pushing herself up to lean against the headboard allowed her to see everything in the sparsely furnished room. It wasn’t much more than a place to sleep and other than his clothes tossed over the furniture there weren’t any personal touches at all.

“You gonna drag your butt outta bed anytime soon?” Michael asked as he sauntered through the doorway and crossed the room to sit on the bed beside her. He leaned over her and placed his hand flat on the bed to support his weight as he studied her features in the early morning light. “I kinda brought you up here so I could show you something and as much as I’m enjoying you bein’ in my bed what I wanted you to see isn’t in the house and it’s definitely not in the bedroom.”

“I don’t suppose you made breakfast?”

“Have you forgotten what my cooking tastes like?”

She grimaced. “No, but if I remember correctly you do okay with breakfast. So why don’t you go fix me something to eat while I shower and after I eat we’ll go see whatever you brought me up here to see.”

His eyebrows shot up when she slid down and curled up against his side, already half asleep again. “You goin’ back to sleep on me?” he asked quietly, reaching up to brush her hair away from her face.

“Maybe just for a few minutes,” she murmured.

“Yeah, I guess you don’t get many chances to sleep in anymore, do you?” He leaned down to brush a kiss against her forehead before shifting away from her. His eyes dropped down to his arm when her fingers curled around his wrist, preventing him from getting up.

“Don’t go.”

“Well, it’s waited this long,” he whispered as he stretched out beside her and pulled her sleeping form into his arms. “I guess it can wait a little while longer.”

He fell asleep without intending to and when he woke up a couple of hours later he was alone but the sound of the shower running told him where Maria was. He rolled out of bed and hurried to the kitchen to get breakfast ready before she finished her shower.

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“You’re not gonna tell me what it is, are you?” Maria asked as she followed him into the garage a while later.

“Nope.” He switched the lights on and motioned towards the back of the building. “Stay here and I’ll be right back.”

Maria watched him until he disappeared through the wide opening and wandered over to the workbench, leaning over it to study the tools hanging on the wall. His workspace was meticulously maintained and nothing was out of place. Loud noise from the back drew her attention and she turned in time to see him come through the doorway pulling a pallet jack with a large crate situated on the pallet. He maneuvered it around in an empty space and eased it to a stop before lowering the pallet to the ground and pulling the pallet jack out from under it.

“No touching,” he warned with a teasing smile.

She was moving around the crate when he came back with another one, inspecting it for some clue that would tell her what was inside. She switched to the second crate while he went through to the back once more. They were both over six feet tall and nearly five feet wide but there were no markings on them, no identification whatsoever, and the suspense was making her crazy. He brought out a third crate before putting the pallet jack aside and reaching for a crowbar.

He braced his hand against the first crate and tapped the crowbar against his leg, knowing she was getting antsy. “So, is the suspense making you crazy yet?”

Maria knew as soon as he spoke that he was nervous about what her reaction would be to whatever he wanted to show her. She smiled reassuringly at him and waited patiently. “You know how I feel about surprises.”

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath before dragging a stepladder over and stepping up onto the top step, using the crowbar to pry the top off of the crate.

She watched him as he methodically removed first the top and then the sides of each crate to reveal white sheets that covered the items. He hung the crowbar back up on its hook and rubbed his palms on his jeans before turning to face her.

“You can be honest with me,” he said as he reached for the first sheet, tugging on it until it slithered down over the sculpture and fell to the ground. He rolled it up and tossed it across the room to land beside his workbench.

She stared at the life-sized statue, awestruck by the sheer emotion that poured off of it. At first glance it was grotesque but upon further study its beauty shone through. She didn’t think there was an actual category for the creature to fall into; it was unlike anything she had ever seen. She moved closer to it, intrigued by the creatures’ emotion-ravaged features.

“Oh, my God.”

Michael jerked around at the newcomer’s voice, frowning when he saw his agent standing in the doorway with Charlotte.

“Uh, Michael, what’re you doing here?” Charlotte asked. “We wouldn’t have come out if we had known the two of you would be here.”

“It was a last-minute deal.”

“Michael, I need the ladder,” Maria said, reaching out to touch his arm. She wasn’t oblivious to their visitors but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sculpture.

Kate stared in disbelief when he ran to fetch the stepladder without an argument, even going so far as to help the blond up the two steps and keeping his right hand on her waist to prevent her from losing her balance or falling as she leaned forward to reverently trace the grooved lines on the creature’s face.

“Tell me you’re gonna let me sell that one,” Kate begged, ignoring the negative shake of his head. “Do you have any idea how much it would go for?”

“It’s not for sale.” Michael’s gaze shot up to Maria when they both spoke the same words at the same time.

“Why don’t we get out of here and leave you guys alone,” Charlotte said, sensing that something very important was going on. “Give me a call later, maybe we can get together for dinner or something.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

She smiled at him and grabbed Kate’s arm to drag her out of the building, forced to endure the annoyed griping from her companion. She knew the other woman would still be complaining even when they arrived back at her shop and she was certain that dinner was the least the couple could do to make up for her pain and suffering.

Michael released a grateful sigh when they were left alone in the relative silence of the garage and he waited apprehensively while Maria completed her perusal of the sculpture.

“This is how you see yourself,” she said finally, taking his hand as she stepped down to stand on the floor. “Not as the creature itself but what it represents. It’s a metaphor.”

She got it, he thought, relieved.

Maria stepped back and leaned against him as she cataloged every inch of the sculpture. She studied it for several more minutes before she moved forward and reached out to touch it again.

“Part of the wall it’s standing behind has been knocked down repeatedly as evidenced by the pile of rubble at the corner and the bricks missing on the right side. The barbed wire running along the top of the wall is just further proof that he’s protecting not only himself but whoever tries to breach his defenses.” She crouched down beside the corner and reached out to trace over the small pixie-like figure attempting to chip away at the stones. “This one obviously represents me trying to find a way past your walls – walls that you put back up as fast as I could knock them down.” Her fingers traced over the splotches of red that dotted the pixies’ wings and the rubble below before standing and pointing at the creature’s red-tipped claws. “This is the only color you used; it symbolizes your killing Pierce and your belief that by my association with you I was somehow tainted by it.” She pointed back to the pixie below. “That’s why you allowed the paint to drip off of the claws to splash against her wings. You believe what happened tied me to you in some way and kept me from moving on.” She touched the brick the creature held in its bloody paw. “He’s building the wall as fast as she can knock it down but they’re trapped in a cycle that neither of them seem to be able to break.” She moved on to the creatures’ impressive wings. “The wings are extended indicating your readiness to take off at any given moment. The chains criss-crossed over his chest symbolize your attempts to protect your heart even though you wanted nothing more than to free it. But the raw emotion… how did you carve that into a piece of cold, lifeless marble? Every emotion in the book is in his face; anger, fear, love, hate, want, and need.” She shook her head and stepped back. “It’s absolutely breathtaking, Michael; I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Michael swallowed hard and moved to the second sculpture to silently remove the sheet that covered it. He moved back to allow her access, only moving when she asked for the stepladder once again. She repeated the process once more, running her hands over the sculpture and studying its features before stepping down and walking around it several times.

“This one…” Her hand reached up to trace the pixies’ wings. The small pixie had moved directly from the wall to the chains on the creatures’ chest. “This would be when I realized that I had been working towards my goal from the wrong direction. The key wasn’t knocking down your walls to get to your heart; the key was gaining access to your heart because as soon as I had that the walls would fall on their own. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it didn’t matter how much I wanted it, you had to give me access to your heart; it had to be given freely or it meant nothing.” Her fingers lowered to the creatures’ paws. “The claws have been retracted and the wings are only extended about half of their actual wingspan which would be when you finally decided to stop fighting me every step of the way and you swore you wouldn’t run again but you were still cautious about your heart.” She stared intently at its features, mapping every line there before speaking again. “You had let me in as far as you could but you knew it wasn’t enough for either of us.” She paused and looked up at the wings again. “The wings aren’t fully retracted,” she said quietly. “You knew you couldn’t stay without giving me your heart of your own free will and you had to know that eventually that would tear us apart. That’s part of the reason you took off when I told you I was pregnant, isn’t it? You were scared that we couldn’t make it work.”

“It terrified me,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Maria nodded and motioned to the third sculpture, waiting patiently for him to remove the sheet. Her breath caught in her throat when it was revealed and she stared at it speechlessly, overwhelmed by the pure emotion that radiated off of it; hope and love were the dominant emotions but there was fear there too. The chains that had criss-crossed over the creatures’ chest now lay on the ground atop the remains of the wall that wasn’t much more than a pile of rubble. The wings had been retracted and were tucked in close to its’ body, making it much more approachable and not quite so intimidating. The arms were extended out towards the pixie who stood balanced on the severed link in one of the chains and in its’ big paws it held a heart. Tears filled her eyes at the gesture and she glanced around for another sculpture, certain that there had to be another one.

“Isn’t there another sculpture?”

“That’s the last one,” he said, joining her in front of the statue. “How could I sculpt the next one when I don’t know how the story ends?”

Maria looked at him, confused by the cryptic statement. “What do you mean?”

“He’s offered her his heart but will she accept it?” He reached out to trace his fingers over the heart, sliding his thumb and middle fingers down the sides to release the hidden compartment.

Maria watched him, fascinated when the middle section of the heart slid out like a tiny drawer. She leaned forward and gasped in astonishment when she saw the velvet-lined interior and the diamond ring lying inside.

“I wanted to ask you yesterday after your speech but I was afraid you might think I was just reacting to the moment and I wanted you to know that I’ve put a lot of thought into this and it’s what I want.”

“That’s why you wanted me to come up here with you this weekend.”

Michael lifted the ring up and glanced around the garage as if he were making sure no one was watching him. He cleared his throat and ran his free hand over his chest trying to dislodge the nerves that had taken hold of him as he did something he had never in his wildest dreams imagined he’d do.

Maria couldn’t hide her shock when he dropped to one knee in front of her and she quickly recalled the many times he had scoffed at that very gesture when they had watched movies together in the past. She could tell that now that he had made the gesture he didn’t know what to say or do and she took pity on him. Sitting on his raised knee she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and held her left hand out. “I appreciate that you’re willing to do this for me but you don’t have to – “

“Maria, I want to marry you,” he insisted.

“No, you don’t understand; I’m not letting you off of that hook, babe,” she said, meeting his eyes and smiling. “But you don’t have to make the grand gesture of getting down on one knee and coming up with words you’re not comfortable with.”

He nodded and slid the ring onto her waiting finger, grateful that she wasn’t going to make him come up with an entire speech that would convince her to marry him. “I love you.”

“That’s all I need. I love you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him.

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Isabel opened the front door and quickly ushered her brother and Liz inside. “God, I’m so glad you guys are here,” she said, shifting Alex to her left arm and closing the door with her free hand. “Did Maria call you by any chance?”

“Yeah, and I thought she had great news,” Liz said as they followed her into the kitchen. “Unfortunately Max has decided that they’re making a mistake and he’s already booked tickets on the next flight out to Seattle.”

“So has Kyle; I was hoping we could talk him out of it.”

“I haven’t been able to talk Max out of it so I doubt we’re gonna have any luck with Kyle either.” She looked up when the man they were talking about entered the room.

“All right, I’ve got my stuff packed,” he said as he dropped his bag on the floor by the door. “Here, let me have him while you get ready.” He took Alex from his fiancé and looked at their visitors. “You guys are ready to go?”

Max nodded. “We’re ready; already called and got the tickets waiting for us. You?”

“Same here.” He turned slightly to look at Isabel. “Are you gonna get ready anytime soon? We need to be at the airport in a couple of hours and since it’s gonna take most of that time for you to – “

“Have you even stopped to consider that they’re both adults and they know what they’re doing?” she asked.

“No.” He turned back to the bottle he was preparing for Alex. “I’m leaving with or without you in one hour.”

“If I didn’t think I needed to be there to keep you from making a complete fool of yourself I wouldn’t go.” She turned her head to look at her brother. “And I’ll bet Liz is only going for the same reason.”

“The clock is ticking, Isabel.”

She rolled her eyes and started to leave the room when a thought suddenly occurred to her. “What about the kids? Tomorrow’s Saturday and we do have a regular – “

“I’ve already called Dani and told her that we had a family emergency come up and we were gonna be out of town all weekend. She’ll make sure the kids are taken care of.” He made a shooing motion with his hand. “Now would you please go get ready?”

“It’s nice to know I’m not the only woman here who can’t talk any sense into the man in her life,” Liz remarked, glaring at her husband.

Max crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “You’re telling me you have no problem whatsoever with Michael just showing up after all this time and within two weeks time he’s asking her to marry him?”

“That’s what I told you before you freaked out and made flight reservations and that’s what I’m telling you now.”

“It’s obviously up to us to fix this, Kyle.”

Isabel rolled her eyes and motioned for her sister-in-law to follow her. “Give me a hand with Alex’s stuff.”

“You know she wants Liz to go with her so they can compare notes on how idiotic and unreasonable we’re both being, don’t you?” Kyle asked.

“That’s because they’re thinking about this with their emotions; we’re thinking about it with our heads. Two weeks is not enough time to make a decision like this.”

“Two weeks? He asked her this morning.”

“But how long has he been planning to ask her? What makes him even think he’s ready to take a step this big?”

“Exactly. What makes him think all of a sudden that he’s ready to be a husband and a father? He spends a couple of weeks with them and it’s only been for a few hours each night and the weekends; he hasn’t even spent a complete twenty-four hour day with them and he thinks he’s ready for this?”

“Absolutely not,” Max agreed.

“It’s all right though. We’ll fix everything.”

Michael ignored the pounding as long as he could but when it continued for several minutes without letting up he was forced to accept that he was going to have to deal with it. He was loathe to get out of bed now that Maria was finally with him in every way but the noise was starting to disturb her sleep and it was too early for her to have to face the day. She grumbled when he moved away from her and eased out of bed, settling back into quiet sleep only after she had wrapped her arms around his pillow and buried her face against it.

He pulled on a pair of jeans when the knocking intensified, grabbing a shirt and closing the door on his way out of the bedroom. He padded across the kitchen floor, his bare feet slapping against the sun-warmed tile. It was rare that anyone other than his neighbors, his agent, or Charlotte came to the house and he could count all of his other visitors over the past year on one hand. He moved down the short hall and was shoving his arm into his shirt as he unlocked the door and jerked it open.

“I hope you have a damn good reason for – “ He stared at the people gathered on his small porch as he slowly pulled his shirt the rest of the way on. “I don’t suppose you’re here to offer your congratulations,” he muttered as he stepped back, allowing them to enter the house.

“How very perceptive of you, Guerin,” Kyle snapped. “I did some thinking on the way to the airport and realized that you probably wouldn’t listen to anything we had to say so I thought you might be more inclined to listen to our parents.”

Michael paled when Amy and Jim Valenti stepped inside followed by Phillip and Diane Evans. He was taken by surprise when he was suddenly enveloped in a warm embrace and his arms automatically came up around Isabel.

“Liz and I are on your side,” she whispered. “And so are my parents.” She ignored the scowl on her fiancé’s face as she moved away from Michael and wandered around the room, checking things out.

Michael glanced at the last couple to come through his front door, seeing the look of disapproval on Max’s face and the sympathy on Liz’s. He frowned when his gaze lowered to the little boy lying limply in her arms, his red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks tugging at his father’s heartstrings.

“What’d you do to him?” he demanded, lifting his son up and settling him against his chest. He ran his free hand over Alex’s flushed face as he searched for a fever or some other reason for his uncharacteristic behavior.

“His normal routine has been severely altered and he tends to get clingy and irritable when that happens,” Kyle answered. “He’s also at the stage where he’s dealing with separation anxiety – “

“He was doin’ just fine when Maria called you yesterday.”

“That’s right; he was fine. We had a few difficult moments but overall he was dealing with his mother being gone just fine. But I couldn’t just leave him with his sitter while we came here, could I?”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you came here,” he snarled. “You’re the one who upset his routine and allowed him to get all worked up.” He fell silent when Alex whimpered, distressed by their angry voices.

“He’s not used to being around this kind of tension. He’s not used to…”

Michael stared at him for several long moments, gritting his teeth in an effort to keep his temper in check. “Finish that statement, Valenti.”

“He’s not used to you,” the other man bit out, his tone harsh. “What right do you have to come into his life now? What gives you the right to involve yourself in Maria’s life after you walked out on them – “

“What I do and why I do it is none of your business.”

“Considering that he’s the one who picked up the pieces after you left I’d say it is his business,” Max said. “You made it the business of everyone here by walking out on her. We’re all involved because – “

“You’re all involved to a certain degree but you are not involved in her decision to accept my proposal of marriage.” He glanced down at Alex and saw that he had relaxed and fallen asleep, his right hand fisted around the fabric of his father’s shirt. “The only one of you here who has any kind of a right to say anything to me is her mother, and maybe the sheriff, and I’ll take whatever they have to dish out, but the rest of you…” He shook his head. “I know you and Max came up here with the intention of listing all of my failures for me and making sure that I’m aware that not only do I not deserve her but I also don’t have enough of a sense of responsibility to take care of her and Alex.” He frowned at Max when he shook his head. “Why are you denying what we both know to be true?”

“Oh, I’m not denying that,” Max murmured quietly. “I just don’t understand how you can come back after being gone for so long and after two weeks you think you’re ready to be a husband and a father.”

“I don’t guess it really matters whether you understand it or not,” he answered, shrugging without concern. “She understands and that’s all I need.”

“Where’s Maria?” Kyle asked impatiently.

“She’s asleep; she doesn’t get much of a chance to sleep late so she’s taking advantage of it this weekend.” He turned to look at Maria’s mother and stepfather. “If you wanna talk we can go in the kitchen but I’m done with the group session.”

Amy shook her head. “I’ve made enough mistakes with my daughter, Michael; I have no intention of getting between you. If this is what she wants to do then – “

“Amy, you can’t possibly think this is a good idea,” Kyle interrupted. “He walked out on her. He knew she was pregnant and he took off. How long do you think it’ll be before he takes off again?”

“You wanna take this outside, Valenti? Because I’ve had just about enough of your mouth.” His gaze bounced between Kyle and Max before he continued. “The two of you seem to be the ones having the biggest problem – “

“Kyle has a valid point, Michael,” Max said, drawing the other man’s irritated gaze to him. “How do we know you’re not gonna do the same thing six months from now?”

Michael shrugged. “I guess you don’t.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“As much as I’m enjoying this whole united front the two of you have goin’ on I’m really not interested in anything you have to say. I asked her to marry me and she said yes; she didn’t say, ‘I need to check with Kyle and Max first to make sure I have their approval’.”

“We’re not – “

“That invitation to take it outside extends to you too, Maxwell.”

Max snorted and took several steps in Michael’s direction before his father intercepted him and put a hand out to stop his progression.

“I think the three of you need to calm down,” Phillip said, keeping his tone calm. He seriously questioned his sanity when he realized he was standing between three angry men and two of them were half-alien. “Getting into a fist-fight won’t solve anything.”

“Maybe not,” Kyle conceded, “but kicking Guerin’s ass would make me feel a lot better.”

“Phillip’s right,” Jim said as he joined them in the center of the room. “This isn’t gonna solve anything and to be completely honest what they decide to do is none of your business.”

“You know we’re in trouble when Michael’s the most well-behaved one in the bunch,” Isabel muttered when the three younger men started arguing.

“You also know they’re gonna end up fighting over this,” Liz said. She nodded her head when Michael broke away from the group a few minutes later to hand Alex over to Amy before he turned and shoved Kyle and then Max towards the front door.

Diane glanced between her daughter and daughter-in-law when they made no move to follow the men outside. “You’re not gonna try to stop them?”

“No. We discussed it at the airport and decided that if they’re that determined to make fools of themselves then we wouldn’t interfere,” Isabel answered, reaching for the leather-bound book lying on the coffee table. “Besides, they know we disapprove of the way they’re handling this.”

“Which means for the next week or so they’ll be doing everything they can think of to make up for it.” She exchanged a conspiratorial smile with her sister-in-law before turning her attention to the book Isabel had reached for. “What’ve you got?”

“It’s a portfolio,” she said slowly. Her fingers traced around the edges of the glossy photograph centered on the page.

“Michael’s?” Amy asked as she joined them.

Maria watched the women crowded on the couch as they gushed over the photographs that filled the pages. She immediately noticed that the guys weren’t in the house and since Kyle and Max were still refusing to accept that Michael had come back she had to assume they had gone outside to beat each other senseless. The thought that he could get hurt propelled her into action and she hurried outside, oblivious to the startled looks she received from the women she had been observing.

Relief flooded her senses when she reached the front porch and saw the men standing around watching each other warily. Michael and Kyle were exchanging words and from their expressions she knew they were heated. She could only imagine what Mr. Evans was thinking as his gaze moved between his son and Michael. Jim had known about the aliens in their group for a couple of years so he wasn’t overly concerned but the other man had known the truth for less than a month. She knew how intimidating it was to deal with them when they were angry; it had terrified her when she had first found out about them, but now it was no different than dealing with any other angry person.

“I’m gonna tell you one more time, Valenti,” Michael snarled when Kyle stepped into his personal space again. “Get outta my face or you’re not gonna like what I do to you.”

“Your threats don’t scare me, Guerin. The only thing that scares me in this entire scenario is that she’s gonna get hurt again… that you’re gonna get her hopes up with all this talk about marriage and the future and when it gets rough you’re gonna take off on her. You didn’t stick around the last time so you weren’t there to help her deal with the pregnancy, a broken heart, and being kicked out by her own mother. And you know what pissed me off most of all? She defended you. Do you know how many people know she told you she was pregnant before you ran? Just the four of us… and not because she told us. She gave us the same version that everyone else got; that you left before she had a chance to tell you.”

“That’s enough.”

They turned to look at Maria when she spoke, her tone firm. She looked directly at Michael, hating the agonized expression in his dark eyes. She knew how deeply he felt things and having Kyle throw the past in his face would only add to the weight on his shoulders. The guilt he harbored for his actions in the past wouldn’t allow him to defend himself but it wouldn’t stop her from putting an end to their treatment of him.

“I want to talk to Kyle and Max alone,” she said as she pushed her brother aside to stand in front of her fiancé. She glanced at the two men in question. “I’ll be with you in just a minute.” Her hands settled at Michael’s waist and she walked him backwards until they were several feet away from the others. Reaching up to take his face in her hands she directed his gaze to hers. “It’s in the past. If you let it stay in the present you’ll never forgive yourself.”

He stared into her green eyes and saw only love and concern reflected back at him. He felt completely unworthy of her love and he didn’t understand how she could forgive him for what he had done to her. “I can’t.”

“But you will,” she insisted. “Maybe not today or tomorrow or even next year, but one day you’ll be able to forgive yourself.” Her fingertips grazed over his lightly stubbled jaw and she smiled at the feeling.

“What? I didn’t have time to shave…” He trailed off when she just shook her head.

“I like it.”

His eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown. “I don’t understand; Charlie said women don’t like it because it’s scratchy and – “

He was so adorable when he was confused, Maria thought. “Do you recall me ever complaining about it before? No, you don’t,” she answered for him. “We don’t all like the same things, y’know.” She tugged on one of the panels of his unbuttoned shirt. “I appreciate the attempt but this isn’t you. And besides,” she whispered as she leaned up to kiss him, “the tee shirts show your shoulders off so much better.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Now, go away and let me deal with my brother and Max.”

“They’re not wrong to – “

“Regardless of their reasoning I won’t have them treating you like this. I love you.” Her heart did a full somersault when a genuine smile softened his features and his eyes lit up. “You should give your friends a call; I know we were supposed to go over to their house this afternoon but now that everyone’s here I don’t see that happening.”

“I’ll give ‘em a call but they’re just gonna tell me to bring everyone over. Trust me; if we don’t go over to their place for the barbeque the barbeque will come to us. Leo and Jen have never let me get away with ignoring their invitations and I’m certain Charlie’s only encouraged them.”

“Well, I think it’s been good for you. Now, seriously, go away and I’ll be inside as soon as I’ve straightened those two out. Okay?”

“Okay.” He bent his knees slightly and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up against his chest so he could bury his face in the crook of her neck. He rubbed one stubbled cheek against her soft flesh and barely controlled the urge to carry her back inside when she growled low in her throat. He chuckled and his breath gusted warmly against her neck. “You like that, huh?”

“Remind me later and I’ll show you how much.”

“You’re gonna kill me,” he groaned, kissing her before he set her back on her own two feet.

Maria waited to speak until she was alone with her brother and Max. “Can you two please explain to me what you think you’re doing? Because I don’t care for the way you’re treating Michael and I want it to stop right now.”

Kyle threw his hands up in the air and paced back and forth, shaking his head as he muttered under his breath. “How can you do this? How can you risk putting yourself out there again after – “

“The same way you were able to risk your heart again when Isabel came back, or the way Isabel was able to do the same with you… he’s worth the risk, Kyle, and I’m not gonna let fear keep me from going after what I want. You were there for me when my entire world was falling apart and you kept me going every time I thought I had reached my limits. Up until now you’ve been the primary male figure in my son’s life and I’m sure that’s part of the reason why you’ve been so antagonistic towards Michael but it ends today. Do you understand what I’m telling you? Because he is Alex’s father and he has every right to be involved in his son’s life. I am going to marry him, Kyle, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be excluded from Alex’s life.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt like that again, Maria.” He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her thoughtfully. “And, yeah, you’ve got a point about why I keep pushing him but I’ve been around Alex every single day since he was born and it’s not gonna be easy to just hand that over to someone else… even if it is his father.”

“You’ll still be an important part of his life; all of you will.”

“Seattle’s a long way from Colorado Springs.”

“I thought the same thing but Michael has made it perfectly clear that he can do his work from anywhere – and that includes Colorado Springs.”

“I’ll try to get along with him; that’s the best I can give you right now.”

She smiled at his response, recognizing it as the same answer she had given him when he had been encouraging her to give her mother a chance. “Hey, I’ll take what I can get… that’s the correct answer, right?”

He nodded and grinned. “You kept your word and I’ll do the same.” He motioned towards the house. “I’d better go talk to Isabel; she’s probably not real happy with me right now.”

“He’s been back two weeks, Maria; isn’t it a little too soon to make such a big decision?” Max asked after Kyle had gone inside.

“Michael and I have never taken things slow; life’s too short to drag your feet. Who knows that better than we do?” She watched him as he considered her words but a moment later he shook his head and she knew she hadn’t convinced him. “I know why you’re so angry with him, Max, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“What?”

“Growing up it was just the three of you because you were scared to get close to anybody else which is understandable when you consider what you keep hidden from the world. He didn’t just leave me; he left you and then Isabel left too, and I know how much that hurt. Maybe not from your perspective, but I know how close the three of you were and you’re not the only one who misses that connection.”

“He made his choice.”

“So you’re gonna punish him and yourself for it for the rest of your lives? Isabel’s found a way to mend fences with him and they’re working on rebuilding – “

“Isabel’s always had a soft spot for Michael and it allows her to forgive him for things that no one else would even consider.”

“Not even you?”

Max turned away from her to stare out across the endless acres of land that surrounded them and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“You and Michael are so much alike at times,” she huffed, rolling her eyes.

“We are not alike,” he denied, annoyed by the perceived accusation. “I would never walk out on my – “

“You wear your heart on your sleeve and Michael keeps everything hidden but you both feel things so deeply that it makes it difficult for you to let it go when you’ve been hurt. Are you gonna stand there and tell me that it didn’t hurt when he left without a single word? You would’ve gone after him regardless of his reason for leaving.”

“No.”

“No? Would you have gone after him if he had taken off like he was planning to the night Hank disappeared? C’mon, Max, we both know you would’ve followed him.”

“We’re supposed to be together; it’s not safe out there. He’s always been hotheaded and he’s always reacted without thinking things through but this time his actions affected all of us.”

Maria smiled when she realized that there was no heat behind his words and they had reached the point where he was just blowing off steam. “If you hadn’t been following him all over the country, if you and Liz had gone straight to college, do you think you’d be married now? Do you think Isabel wouldn’t have left if he had stayed? Because I can pretty much guarantee that she would’ve taken off either way. Do you – “

“You know why she left,” Max said suddenly, turning to look at her. “She told you, didn’t she?”

“Max… no.”

“Tell me why she left and I’ll let the past go.”

“I can’t give you that, Max; it’s not my story to tell.”

“Fine, I’ll ask her myself.” He turned on his heel and walked back to the house.

Maria hurried after him and caught him just before he reached the door. “Max, don’t. It has to come from her but it has to be offered freely; she was in a lot of pain when she left and whatever happened while she was gone allowed her to move on. If you go in there and you demand an explanation you’re gonna cause her a lot more pain. She’ll come to you when she’s ready to talk about it; don’t push it.”

Max sighed deeply and his hand dropped away from the doorknob at her sincere plea. “Whatever it was, she’s okay now, right?” he asked, searching her face for the truth.

“Yes, she’s okay.”

“I’ll ease up on Michael.”

She threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, you never thought about havin’ kids before, huh?”

Michael looked up when a shadow fell over him and he grinned at Leo and shrugged. “I may have thought about it once or twice.” He glanced around the Beckett’s backyard, watching his friends and family interact with each other at his neighbor’s Saturday afternoon barbeque.

“Looks like you did more than think about it,” the older man mused. “You’ve got a great girl there, Michael; I like her.”

“I know and I don’t intend to repeat my mistakes with her.” He turned his head when Leo motioned at something in front of him, smiling when his gaze landed on his fiancé and his son. He sat forward in the deck chair he had confiscated and carried out into the yard when she crouched down and set Alex on his own two feet. Her hands hovered under his arms as he swayed uncertainly for a few moments before his stance steadied and he took a couple of halting steps. He had taken his first steps the week before, silencing the conversation they had been in the middle of and he had been gaining confidence in his ability to maintain his balance since then. He had been in awe of his son’s first steps and Maria had bawled for half an hour afterwards; he was positive he’d never understand women or why they got so emotional over things like that.

His breath locked up in his throat when Alex looked up at him and he saw his own grin reflected back at him. He held his hands out, encouraging his son to keep moving and a few minutes later Alex stepped into his waiting arms. He leaned against his father’s left leg, his chubby hands patting his knee in a stuttered rhythm. When he grew bored with that he crawled up into Michael’s lap and stared at him intently for a while before he stretched his right arm out to place his palm flat against his chest.

“Dada… ba.”

Oh God… Oh God… he was about to get a first hand lesson in emotions right here in front of everybody, he thought, panicking. This is ridiculous; I am not gonna cry over this. It was just a word… it was just one word… He looked up when Alex’s bottle was placed in his right hand and his fingers automatically tightened around it.

“Ba!” Alex crowed happily when he spotted the bottle, completely oblivious to the state of his father’s emotions. He lunged for the bottle when it wasn’t immediately given to him and only Michael’s quick reflexes kept him from overbalancing and falling to the ground.

He handed the bottle to Alex and he felt the boy settle back against his chest, perfectly content now that he was occupied. He stared at the ground through vision blurred by tears, afraid to blink for fear that they might spill over and make it obvious just how affected he was by one single word.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Maria said gently as she knelt down beside his chair. “I think it’s only natural to be affected so deeply when you hear your child address you for the first time.”

“Well, did he have to do it here, in front of everybody?” he grumbled, fighting the instinct to reach up and rub his damp eyes.

Maria smiled at his disgruntled tone, knowing that the gruff words were his attempt to cover up the fact that his emotions were so close to the surface. “I don’t really think anyone’s paying any attention to what’s going on over here.

“Are you sure?”

She glanced around the yard briefly. “Positive.”

Reassured that no one was watching him he reached up to rub his eyes, relaxing once his vision had cleared up. He cleared his throat and slouched down in his chair, posturing for anyone who happened to look in his direction.

Maria rolled her eyes and reached up to rub his shoulder. “I had a rather interesting conversation with Jen a little while ago,” she said.

“Really?”

“I don’t recall any mention of her career when you were telling me about her and Leo.”

“No? Must’ve slipped my mind.”

“It just slipped your mind that your next door neighbor… your friend, managed several pretty big names in the music industry? Did it also slip your mind that you talked to her recently about making a trip to Colorado Springs to hear me sing?”

“Uh… surprise?”

“Michael, I go out to a karaoke club with Kyle for a couple of hours on Saturday nights and we get up on stage and goof off; that’s completely different – “

“You still wanna take a chance on a career in music, right? That’s one thing I can’t make happen for you, but I know someone who can and, yeah, I asked her for a favor. She knows all the right people, babe; she knows what it takes to make or break a career in the music industry and she’s willin’ to help.”

“But she’s retired.”

“Semi-retired,” he countered. “She said she’d only get back into it if she was managing the right person.” He shrugged and looked up at her. “I think you’re that person.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he mocked, smiling to take the sting out of the word. “I also think you’ve got enough talent to knock the industry on its ass.” His right eyebrow arched loftily. “What’ve you got to say about that?”

“I think you should save this smug attitude until you have something to be smug about.” She kissed him and stood up. “But, your confidence in my ability is appreciated.”

He caught her hand, stopping her before she could walk away. “I am right and I want you to remember that when you get your first award.”

“Are you two already disagreeing about something?” Max asked, joining them with his own chair and sitting down.

“Not exactly.”

“Behave yourself, babe,” Maria said with a laugh. She shot a quick glance at Max and shook her head in warning before leaving them to talk.

Max nodded and slouched down, stretching his long legs out and glancing at the man beside him. “So, your friends are nice…”

Michael waited, knowing he had more to say.

“Your friend… Charlie, right? She’s a little on the odd side.”

“A little? The woman defines the word ‘odd’.” He nodded at the woman in question and they watched her for several minutes, observing her as she held court in the midst of their friends. “I actually wanted to talk to you about her… I have a favor to ask and I know I have no right to ask you for anything and if it were for me I wouldn’t.”

“What is it? If it’s something I can help with you know I’ll do it.”

“Well, the thing is, it’s for Charlie. She wants to have a baby and I thought you could help her – “

“What?!” Max yelped.

Michael rolled his eyes and motioned for him to keep his voice down when everyone turned to look at them.

“You can’t just ask someone for something like that. I’m a married man, Michael, and even if I wasn’t you… you… how could you even ask me that?”

He listened to the indignant stuttering, amused that Max had jumped to the wrong conclusion. He was wondering how long the other man would ramble on and was considering letting him continue when Liz joined them.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“Didn’t I tell you to behave yourself?”

Michael looked up at Maria and shrugged his shoulders. “I was.”

“He just asked me to sleep with his friend,” Max hissed, his face flushed crimson with embarrassment.

“What?!” Liz crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him expectantly.

“I did not! All I said was that Charlie would like to have a baby and maybe he could help her with it.”

Maria bit her lip to keep from smiling at his huffy explanation. “Maybe you should explain exactly how you would like him to help her; you kinda left that thought open to all kinds of interpretation.”

“She was in an accident when she was in high school and because of it they said she’d never be able to carry a child to term. She can get pregnant but she’ll miscarry within the first couple of months and she wants a kid more than anything. I would’ve fixed it for her if I could but I’m not very good at healing injuries like that; you’re much better at that kinda stuff.”

“I’ll talk to her about it,” Max agreed. “But I won’t heal her unless she understands about the connection that has to take place. You know how intense – “

“She already knows about it, Max; she’s experienced it first-hand.” He shrugged. “Car accident last year… she tried to kill me so she could save a turtle.” He made sure his voice was loud enough to carry and he grinned at Charlotte when she turned and glared at him.

“Do I need to come over there and set the record straight?”

“You can try,” he taunted. He made a production of looking around before smirking at her. “I see you didn’t invite the good doctor.”

“Why? So you could subject him to more of your boorish behavior? I’m surprised he even called me after that disastrous first date.” She liked his friends and family and she was enjoying being the center of attention. “He’s found a way to ruin just about every date I’ve been on for the past year,” she confided to her audience.

“I have not.”

“You can give up on this whole innocent thing you’re trying for because everyone here already knows you.”

“You have terrible taste in men and if any of them were worth your time I wouldn’t have to take matters into my own hands. Besides,” he shrugged, “unless I’m mistaken you’ve been seeing Dick for a couple of months now.”

“For the hundredth time, Michael, his name is Richard.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. “Do you know what he did the first time he met Richard? He walks right into the restaurant, grabs a chair from another table, and sits down with us. Then he proceeds to introduce himself by saying, ‘So, you must be Dr. Dick; Charlie’s had quite a lot to say about you.’ He’s done that with every single guy I’ve gone out with and Richard is the only one who has dared to call back for a second date. He intimidated one guy so badly that he went to the restroom and never came back; he crawled out through the window and I never heard from him again.”

“He was a babbling idiot.”

“You sat there and glared at him for almost an hour without saying a single word.”

Michael shrugged; he didn’t consider it a loss.

“And Greg? What was wrong with him?”

“Which one was he?”

“He works at the museum on First and Main.”

“The skinny, scarecrow-lookin’ guy with the ponytail?”

“You deliberately insulted him and called him a liar.”

“He’s the one who said he had gone to school to be an archeologist. He was a liar; he didn’t have a degree in archeology.” He slouched down even further in his chair and shifted his now-sleeping son to a more comfortable position. “Besides, I haven’t run the new guy off so what’re you bitchin’ about?” He smiled at her when she narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t have any plans to chase him off; I actually approve of this one.”

“See, I don’t know if I should be more or less worried that you approve of him.” She shook her head. “This is why I never wanted a brother.”

“Too late to think about it now; you’re already stuck with me.”

Maria watched him as he traded words with Charlotte, amazed at the ease with which he dealt with her. At first she had been jealous of the woman but now that she had talked with Jen and she had watched them interact throughout the afternoon she had a better understanding of their relationship. They were close; they squabbled like siblings and at times they had reminded her of herself and Kyle.

Standing there now surrounded by friends and family, both old and new, she couldn’t help but wonder what the future held for all of them. They had survived everything that had been thrown their way and while they hadn’t come through it unscathed, they were where they were supposed to be: Together.

Epilogue

Michael tuned out the roar of the noisy crowd as all of his senses zeroed in on the woman crossing the stage. His dark eyes roamed over her form appreciatively and he hid the smile that threatened to surface at the panic in her deep green eyes. He couldn’t believe she still got nervous before a show; after five years of facing thousands of screaming fans it didn’t seem possible. She was on the verge of hyperventilating by the time she exited the stage to stand in front of him.

“Okay, tell me I can do this,” she ordered without preamble.

“You can do this,” he parroted obediently. He smirked when she glared at him and delivered a stinging slap to his right arm. “Eighty-three thousand fans can’t be wrong.” He gently turned her to face the stage and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his right arm on her shoulder to point at the frenzied crowd. “There isn’t an empty seat out there; you’re performing for a sold-out crowd… again.”

Maria nodded and made a rolling motion with the hand that wasn’t tightly gripping the arm he had wrapped around her waist.

Michael looked up and nodded at the lead guitarist when he lifted a shoulder in question. At his nod the man signaled the drummer and the band started playing the intro for one of their most popular songs and the crowd went wild. The guys in the band were familiar with her pre-show nerves and they kidded her about it, well aware that as soon as she hit the stage the show would go off without a hitch.

“You hear that? The masses have shelled out hard-earned money to be here tonight; they’re here to see you. The woman with both the number one album and the number one song in the country for the third consecutive week.” He felt her relax and knew he’d have to let her go soon. “Now get out there and drive ‘em crazy.”

She turned and threw her arms around his neck, pushing herself up on her toes to kiss him. “I – “

“Don’t say it,” he warned gently, shaking his head. “You know if you do it’ll flip the switch on those overactive hormones and you’ve got a show to do so tell me afterwards.” He gave her a gentle nudge and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her take a deep breath and walk out on the stage without a trace of her earlier nervousness.

This was the second tour where she was the headlining performer and after eight months they had finally reached the last show. The last couple of months had been grueling and he was glad it was reaching the end. They had found out a few weeks earlier that she was pregnant and they had debated whether or not to cancel the remaining dates on the tour. They had agreed at the beginning that she wouldn’t push herself by touring if they found out at any time that she was pregnant. When they had gotten the news they had discussed it and decided to finish the last leg of the tour since there had only been three weeks left to go.

He had been hesitant about agreeing to finish the tour because he didn’t want any undue stress being put on her. After four tours and three albums she needed a break from the constant pressure the industry put on her. She had been planning to take at least a year off after the tour but he knew with the pregnancy she wouldn’t take off any less than two years. They had spent a lot of time on planes over the past few years, flying home for any important events that took place while they were out of town. Their kids came first and that had been the one thing they hadn’t been willing to negotiate with the record company. Alex was almost seven years old and their daughter Samantha had turned four two months earlier. It wasn’t unheard of for them to fly home for a soccer game or a school play, then turn around and fly back the next day for a scheduled concert. During the summer they took the kids on the road with them and they were always home for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

He normally stayed home with the kids now that Alex was in school but the moment they had found out she was pregnant he had made arrangements for them to stay with Isabel and Kyle and he had called Charlotte to tell her the next shipment would be delayed by a few weeks. She had assured him that she had enough pieces to get her through the holidays before wishing him good luck and hanging up. He smiled as he thought about his best friend; she had gotten married a couple years earlier and she had given birth to a beautiful baby girl a year later. She had threatened to name the baby after him the entire time she had been pregnant – whether it was a boy or a girl – and he had been grateful when the baby was born and she had gone with another name. He suspected she had been messing with his head the whole time but he hadn’t been able to prove it.

Calling Kate to cancel his next show had been a little more difficult but she had finally accepted that he wasn’t going to be there and she had rescheduled. She wanted to open up a gallery that showed his work exclusively and since he refused to allow his pieces to be sold by anyone except Charlotte the two women were negotiating everything from money to where the gallery should be located.

Maria was thrilled at the prospect of having his work displayed in a gallery that was dedicated entirely to his work. She had insisted that he needed to start doing the shows his agent was always pushing him to do and he had finally given in after their second anniversary. The shows had put him on display along with his work and he hadn’t been comfortable with it at first but Maria had been beside him for every show and as time passed he had become more at ease with the attention. He had lost count of the number of interviews he had done and he had turned down dozens of offers made by companies wanting some sort of sculpture that would catch the attention of prospective clients.

It was a non-stop juggling act to keep both of their careers active while balancing their personal lives at the same time but they were both dedicated to making it work.

He shook himself out of his musings long enough to identify the song his wife was singing and mentally calculate how much longer she would be out there. Christmas was less than a week away and they were flying back to Colorado after the concert was finished and all of the post-show activities were wrapped up. They would be home before morning and for the first time since Thanksgiving they would wake up in their own bed and the most pressing matter they would be facing would be what to make for breakfast.

Walking through the front door of the sprawling two-story home they had purchased several years earlier always gave him such a feeling of warm welcome. The front entrance opened up into a large foyer and the statues that he had carved for his wife lined the walls on both sides. They had grown in number as time had passed and the three that he had originally created for her had been joined by several more. He had never imagined that she would insist on displaying the sculptures in their home and they had been an endless source of curiosity for the small handful of people who had been allowed into their home for interviews with one or both of them. The only people who knew the story behind the sculptures were their family – not because either of them had ever felt the need to tell it but because they knew the history he and his wife shared and they had been able to understand the symbolism. Maria had been adamant in her refusal to allow photographs to be taken of anything inside the house, insisting that it was private and not for public viewing.

They were careful to keep their personal lives out of the public eye and they had been vigilant about keeping their children protected from the media. He was the only one who knew she was considering retirement because she missed being at home and spending time with the kids and their family. They had talked about it quite a lot over the past couple of months and he had agreed to stand beside her decision regardless of what it was. But with their third child on the way he had a feeling that retirement was just around the corner.

He straightened up when the stage lights dimmed and the crowd became so loud it was almost unbearable. The overhead lighting backstage provided just enough illumination for him to see her as she ran off the stage and straight into his arms. There wasn’t a better feeling in the world, he thought. Her body was vibrating with leftover energy and he knew from experience that it would be several hours before she came down from the natural high she got from performing. He also knew that once it wore off she would be exhausted and she’d sleep straight through the trip home.

He allowed himself to be led through the maze of corridors that led back to the dressing rooms, entering one of them right behind her and closing the door on the noise. He dropped down into a chair and watched her buzz around the room, changing out of her stage clothes and showering before changing into a pair of well-worn jeans and a red halter-top. She finished the ensemble by pulling on a black leather jacket that was similar to the one he was wearing. He pulled his attention away from her when his cell phone rang, glancing at the caller’s identity and frowning when he recognized his brother-in-law’s number. He talked to Kyle just long enough to learn that his daughter had woken from a nightmare and wanted to hear her parents’ voices.

He talked to her for a while, making sure she was all right and promising that they would be home when she got up the next morning before handing the phone over to Maria. She settled down in his lap and hooked one arm around his neck, reassuring Sammie and singing their little girl back to sleep with a song she had written for her after her birth.

She was quiet after hanging up and he knew her thoughts were at home with their children. “It’s only a few more hours,” he whispered, nuzzling the skin right below her ear. “We’ll go by and pick the kids up from Isabel and Kyle before we go home.”

“Even though we’ll get home before dawn?”

Normally if they got back in the middle of the night they would go straight home and pick the kids up the next morning but with her hormones bouncing from one end of the scale to the other he thought it might be best if they went ahead and picked them up.

“Yeah, why not? Alex won’t wake up if we move him – that boy sleeps like you do, Sammie will go right back to sleep, and you won’t wake up for any of it.”

“Don’t pick on me.”

He kissed the pout off of her face and eased her off of his lap. “Let’s go face your adoring fans and the damned reporters so we can get outta here and go home.”

Home. The word had come to mean so much to him after coming back to her six years earlier. After overcoming every obstacle life had thrown at them so far they were doing well. They were happy, successful, and more in love than they had ever been. They had come full circle since the rocky beginning of their relationship and it had been worth every bit of pain they had gone through.

He stood when she tugged on his hand and followed her to the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned to look up at him. “I love you so much,” she said, leaning up to kiss him.

“Love you more,” he said, grinning as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up so they were eye to eye. Knowing she would argue against his statement he took the opportunity to kiss her, using every weapon in his arsenal to distract her.

A moment later he was blinded by several bright flashes of light and they pulled apart in time for the reporters to snap several more pictures before the security people removed them from the area.

Michael groaned. “You know we’re gonna be on the cover of the damned tabloids… again!”

She smiled. “Yeah, but how many stars land in the tabloids for making out with their husband?”

“Well, if they’d get my name right it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“It’s just the one reporter that gets it wrong every time and you know he does it on purpose because you threatened him the first time he did an interview with me.”

“He’s an octopus, Maria! I told him to keep his distance and he kept gettin’ right up in your personal space and tryin’ to put his hands on you! And I had every right to threaten him and if he doesn’t stop I’ll have our lawyer sue him.”

“All right, Spaceboy, calm down.” She smiled when he snarled at her and reached around her to open the door. Taking his hand she dragged him out behind her to face the reporters, confident that he wouldn’t leave her side for a moment.

Michael followed her, a solid presence at her back, throughout the interviews, photo opportunities, and autographs. He never strayed from her side, content to let her run the show and be the center of attention. Her security people surrounded her but all of his senses were always focused on what was going on around them and who was close enough to be a threat. He was all right with the attention lavished on her by others because he knew when it was all over he was the one she would be going home with.

Arms folded over his chest and an intimidating scowl on his face, he watched over her and waited for her to signal him that she was ready to go. Inside though, his heart was beating triple time as he thought about going home with her. At one time he had wondered if time would take the edge off of his feelings for her and now, six years later, he had his answer. He couldn’t imagine ever being with anyone else. Time had only made them stronger; his heart still beat faster and his palms got sweaty every time she looked at him that certain way. She had made him the man he was and for once he could honestly say that he was comfortable in his own skin. He had found his place in the world – a place where he was accepted for who he was and loved without condition, a place that was his and his alone.

His place was at her side. Loving her, protecting her, and being loved and protected by her in return.






THE END