Roswell Fanatics

natalie36
timelord31
L-J-L 76
begonia9508
Asabetha
Chapter 13

In Albuquerque, Isabel and Alex were settling into being freshmen. Isabel was bothered that when she thought of Alex being killed, the thing she most regretted was that she hadn’t been more forthcoming to his advances. There is nothing like hindsight to tell you what is really important. Isabel had, with her friends and associates at high school, been well into game playing. The game was to be played until you allowed yourself to loose, and then, both counted that they had won. When she had lost Alex, Isabel saw that this game was a dangerous one to play when you really were in love.

Alex still had residuals in his mind that Isabel was his wife. Try as he might, those vignettes of thought kept flickering through his dreams. He understood that Isabel had chosen to come to the University of New Mexico because that is where he was going. She had planned a lot of her life around him. The first move they made together was a mutual decision made during a movie they saw one night. The movie was a romantic comedy, but Isabel decided that romance should be much more serious. “Alex, if you ask me, I will spend the night with you.”

That simple sentence brought what ever were Alex’s thoughts to a halt. Alex could only look at her. Did he, someway, show that he had been thinking about the false memories of being married to Isabel? “Isabel, in my mind, we are married. If you are sure, we should plan what we are going to do.”

It was two weeks later. His driver’s license said Roswell and Alex signed the Holiday Inn roster for Mr. and Mrs. Whitman. They had a ground floor room at the end of the building. For this weekend, schoolwork would be forgotten. They packed two small luggage bags and arrived at the Inn at 4:00 pm. That was as soon as their classes let out.

From their rooms at the motel, they drove to one of the bigger malls in Albuquerque where they went to an Olive Garden restaurant. They had a good meal. Then, they went for a drive, mainly, because Alex was nervous. In his mind, he approached Isabel masterfully. He was her husband and she would acquiesce to whatever he desired. It was 9:00 by the time they got back to the Holiday Inn. No matter what was in his dreams, Alex was still Alex. The woman sitting beside him had shown much compassion and care, but she was still like someone in a dream. Alex brought his Ipod and Bose amplifier into the room. He had programmed the play list with cool Jazz and soft easy listening music.

Alex went into the bathroom to get ready. His mind was in turmoil. The memories that he and Isabel were married, carried even less content than the memories Tess had given Max about sleeping with her. Nasado had no knowledge about sex to impart and little care in making the illusion real. As Alex came out of the bathroom, his teeth brushed and wearing pajama bottoms, for reasons of his illusions, he felt that the pajama bottoms would be right. His mind raced to the details he was to experience of Isabel’s naked body; the feel of her skin, the feel of her naked beasts. Did she moan as he stroked her body? These were things that rushed his mind and amplified his nervousness. He sat on the bed waiting for Isabel.

Isabel was in the bathroom getting ready. It wasn’t as if she was some great guru of sexual knowledge. She did realize that she had a hard job ahead of her. Not only did she have to set Alex at ease, she had to erase false memories and make the real memories good enough that he would retain them over anything else. Where Liz chose the sexist gown she could find, Isabel chose a beautiful black gown. She would reveal herself to Alex at his pleasure. Alex would learn of Isabel at a speed he would choose. It would be Alex who set the pace and Isabel would be there for the reality. Of course, Isabel knew that she might have to draw the choices out of him.

Isabel came out of the bathroom. She stood for a minute, looking at Alex. His breathing was labored. She slowly walked to him. Alex raised his arms and Isabel sat beside him. Alex encircled her and pulled her to him. The resistance he felt as her body moved to accommodate his desires was something that had never run through his mind. The warmth of her body and the softness that belied any vision as his hands sank into her flesh. The beating of her heart and the pulsing of her breathing was nothing from either memory or fantasy. His tongue thrust between her teeth and the gasping as she tried to adjust her breathing, as he tasted her, her breath, her essence.

His hands floated down her sides as his fingers relayed the texture of her body to his mind, driving all else from it. Finally, his hands found their way to her hips. The softness was more than anything he could imagine. Further migration found the hem of her gown. His hands almost had minds of their own as he lifted the gown to reveal her legs. Now his palms took in her flesh and he started back up. At one point, Isabel moved to allow her gown to clear her hips.

Alex was still supporting her with one arm. However, that arm was against her bare back and he could feel every shiver she made as he touched places where she had not been touched by a man or boy before. His other arm and hand was rapidly moving to her breast. Which was the most obvious display of her sex. Her breasts were at the same time, the softest things he had ever touched and, also, pulsing with life. He could feel them rise and her nipples harden.

His hand fell to the juncture of her legs and the softness he found there. Isabel raised her arms which, automatically, caused Alex to move his hands to lift her gown from her body. She fell back on the bed, naked and vulnerable before him. Alex stood and dropped his pajamas. Isabel inched back until she was fully on the bed. When Alex stood to remove his pajamas, his mind battled the false memories that he had stood naked before her in the past. It might have been, actually, Nasado, but that false Isabel had dressed him in the cave. Now, he knew she was the girl he had dreamed about, obsessed about, and, yes, even felt a hard on while watching her at school. Alex picked up the condom he had sat out on the bed cover. He crawled beside her. Shifting his body, to adjust the device and, as she parted her legs, he found his home within her body.

Now, Alex was arranging his mental attitude to the reality of Isabel, it must be remembered that though she was compliant, Isabel was excited to feel his strong body, also. She had to be careful that her own excitement didn’t frighten him, as he fumbled, trying to become her lover.

After they had finished the urgency of their love, Alex lay beside her. She rolled over and tasted the sweat of his chest. Her tongue rolled over his nipples and he gripped her tighter. He buried her face against his chest as her hands played with the sparse hair she found there. He bent to kiss her on the forehead and she turned to cuddle against him. For several minutes, they lay like that.

Isabel suddenly sat up and, pulling Alex, she led him toward the shower. Once in the warm water, Alex was free to explore every inch of her body, as she did like wise. Yes, he had traveled this path as they sat on the bed. But, now, he wasn’t traveling. He was exploring. This time there would not be any false or empty memories of what was Isabel. No matter what happened, everything about this, would be printed in his mind. He was so careful not to hurt her that she said, “Alex, your touches are pleasure. I am not that fragile. I won’t break,” Isabel said as she pulled Alex even closer to her, kissing him in the rain of the warm shower.

They dried each other, which in itself, was a freedom and a pleasure. Then, they lay naked. As they were being born into their new lives of love, they remained on the bed and with new dreams in each of their minds, they fell asleep.

Even though living at the University, they had explored most of Albuquerque, this time holding hands, they seemed to see brighter colors and happier people passing them. The bookstores and art shops they visited were full of more interesting things. Little things such as being jostled in the crowds and walking down the street seemed to have a little more meaning. They were profoundly happy.

Less than a year ago, Isabel was convinced that she had lost most reason to live. Now, after last night her happiness was unbounded. They shopped and walked. Finally, on the main street down town, they heard Mexican music coming from a small café. Entering, it seemed as if the mariachi band was playing just for them. It was late in the afternoon when they, finally, returned to their rooms. They lay on the bed together, just being content to be in each other’s arms. Later they got up to go to supper and then to return to their room for the night.

Isabel was unsure what Alex wanted and Alex was almost afraid to ask. They sat for a few minutes, just kissing and fondling. Finally, Alex stood up. Isabel followed. Alex stood a little away from her and he started to unbutton her blouse. She started to help him, and the hurt expression on his face stopped her. She just remained standing as he, slowly, removed the blouse and was kissing the rise of her breasts. Isabel, by reflex, stretched her neck. Alex moved to kiss and gently mouth the soft flesh around her jawline. He, then, reached behind her and wrestled with the fastenings of her bra. That would be the one thing that he would always have trouble with, but he would be in good company, as 90 percent of males could never understand this small fastening. Isabel was wearing slacks and Alex pulled at the elastic of the waistband. When pulled down, they fell to the floor where she kicked them off.

Alex was at a disadvantage as he had prepared Isabel, but he was still fully dressed. Isabel took the hint and she unfastened the buttons of his shirt. Why was it that women can do this to men so much easier than the other way around? Once off, she undid his belt. His zipper led her to caress his groin. Alex had a hard intake of breath because the anticipation was so great. Once his pants were freed of restraints, they dropped to the floor.

Alex kicked off his shoes, as did Isabel. Now in their stockings and underwear bottoms, they were holding and kissing. Isabel sat on the bed, but before Alex could join her, she pulled down his shorts. There was an awkward moment since Alex hadn’t completely thought out this evening. He had to walk to his luggage and remove his box of condoms.

As he was moving across the room, Isabel was admiring his every move. She could, now, do this without embarrassment because she believed that what she saw was hers, as what she had to give, was his. They were not two different people any longer.

Their love, tonight, was slow. They knew that tomorrow night they would be back in their dorms. Until they arranged another tryst, they would only have these memories.

If there is a sprite of love, some creature who takes care of couples and makes sure they finally come together, that sprite would see the difference in the three couples. Liz and Max, were the pair who thought they had betrayed each other. The pair who had to decide, that the past actions of the other, were not important. They would do all they could not to live in the past and would, suddenly, learn that they hadn’t betrayed anyone, except in their minds. Liz would approach Max as a tease. A tease, who would easily give into his lusts. letting him conquer her as they strove for equality. That, so strange a concept, ‘conquer until they achieve equality.’ They found that the one they had to conquer was themselves. They had to conquer their own imaginations and experience a tenderness that only spoke of the future. From now on, they would anticipate the experiences, that,, lay in store for them.

The sprite would see that with Alex, again, there were memories that had to be forgotten. There could be no tease. To tease would bring back the feelings of the promises he felt in the cave. Isabel had to give him a reality; a reality that was beautiful as well as lasting. No, Alex wasn’t married to Isabel, but the Isabel he had in his arms was so real and had so much more promise.

Kyle had fallen into his love. He had put his life in front of her, showing a willingness to defend her against even his friends. The love he had fallen into was a love that had no other path. Their love was truly a home for the other. They hadn’t had that romantic, planned experience that the other two couples enjoyed. Their romance had formed as Kyle held her crippled body in his arms. As he gave her strength, he also developed this love. For Tess, at first, it was self defense; the need for someone to be willing to heal her. When it was all over, and they were safe at home, they both found that they had given themselves to each other.

This, now, left only the remaining couple, Michael and Maria. As the sprite feared, this would be the most difficult couple to bring together. They both were volatile and headstrong. It would take a lot to iron out their lives so they could crawl in the sheets, not for sex, but for the love that they both needed. Maybe, because they both felt abandoned in some way, the sprite knew of the importance of bringing them together.

When you have grown up with nothing, everything you acquire becomes a memento. Michael grew up with nothing, not even the abuse of someone who was supposed to care for him. His foster care was just a cash proposition for those who were supposed to create a stable environment for the embittered child. That was, principally, the reason that the judge was so willing to give him emancipation when Max’s father helped him petition for it.

Of course, Michael could care for himself, at least better than those who had been charged to do this in the past. Young people like Michael sometimes find that one special person. Be they teacher, councilor or clergy, it is fortunate when that person will see something that should be cultivated to help this child find a way. It is said that there are many scholarships, grants and other things that can get a willing and able person through college.

Few, if any, can find these on their own. For a while, Michael had found hope in his girl friend. At first, he feared anything that could be taken away from him. The fact that she was willing and, even, eager to be in his company, was frightening.

Just like he had learned not to bond with any of his foster parents because he knew that they might change by next week, he feared the young lady for the same reason. They became a couple. Then, they were on the way to becoming friends. Maria brought a lot to Michael. She bitched and complained until he became more aware of his friction in his interaction with others. She nagged until he developed a more considerate attitude towards her.

In the only ways she , Maria was trying to aid Michael in learning the things about socialization that his growing up hadn’t taught him. Maria was crippled in her socialization herself. Her father had left. Her mother never gave a solid reason of why he did it. It is even possible that Amy DeLuca, herself, didn’t really understand. She just knew that there was something about her that failed to hold the father of her daughter.

In place of stable plans for growing up, Maria nurtured an illusion. An illusion made way before she met Michael. This was the illusion of being discovered and being swept off to fame and fortune. It was the one thing that sustained her in her young life. When the dream matured and was presented to her, the choice was between her newly discovered, possible, romance or the long held fantasy that threatened to now become reality. The fantasy was the most unbelievable. Thus, that was the thing she chose.

For Michael, he had just had a reality check. Nothing is permanent. He had just forgotten this for a while. Well take that back; there was one thing. Michael was the alien soldier. He had a duty to protect the others. As the other aliens were taking mates and proceeding with their lives, Michael became, again, disillusioned as he felt no longer needed, what was his purpose?

The school councilor was the man who watched the disturbing progress of the young man or, maybe, lack of progress. Anyone who took the time to talk to Michael was impressed with his intelligence. It was his school progress that was so dismal. Michael just never saw himself being on Earth long enough to make what he could learn in school important.

After the abortive departure, Michael declared that remaining with Maria was now his goal, then, Michael’s studies picked up. Of course, when Maria was willing to leave him, it carried him back to his former despair.

As said, the counselor was the one who acted on Michael’s behalf. Now, he was here at college which he never thought he would see. Michael’s rooming with Max kept him from being too cut off from the world he knew. He heard news of Isabel and Alex. He found a certain joy for Isabel.

The loss of Alex was so devastating to her. It was one of the things Michael believed proved, that humans in their lives was wrong. Then, he remembered the softness of Maria’s body and the intentions of her person as she dragged him into a socialization that made him almost normal. Now, Max was talking about taking up an apartment with his choice of human. Would Michael be again lost? Could he room with a boy or man who Michael would have to conceal, every moment, what he was?

There grew something in Michael, which said, once before he was a stone wall to protect the others around him. Now, he must become a stone wall to protect himself. He couldn’t afford to depend on Max.

Max would leave him for the siren of romance, the cottage and the white picket fence to guard the children. Even Max noticed the change in Michael. “Michael has always been shut down. I was worried about how he would take it when I told him that we probably wouldn’t be rooming together. He didn’t say anything. He just keeps more to himself and seems to be wrapping himself in his studies. That is not characteristic of Michael.” Max told Liz, one day.

“Max, he has been with you for years. You are divorcing him and it is just as traumatic as that would be in a family. He has to find something to hang on to. Everything he cared about is leaving. Maria left, then Isabel and now you. Michael has to find a direction of his own.” Max smiled. He was so lucky to have Liz. She understood things that he would have to mull over for days.

begonia9508
natalie36
timelord31
arianneleigh

Chapter 14

With everything else happening to him, Michael was not prepared for what he saw one day in the student union at the university. As he was hurrying to lunch, he saw a gorgeous sophisticated lady sitting in the lounge area. She was dreamly looking out the large windows, which opened to the distant mountains, just east of the campus. From time to time, a student would recognize her. The student would whip out a class book, a carry bag and, even one, his tee shirt for her to sign.

She was cordial to every one, but she didn’t encourage conversation with any. There was a massive argument within Michael’s mind, “Don’t be a fool. She left you. Just walk on by,” and the ready response, “She was the best thing in your life. Don’t let her get away, again, if you can help it!”

In the end, he assumed a perfectly controlled, “Hello, Maria, how is touring?”

Maria jumped. She was steeling herself for this minute. She had no idea of how it would play out. “ It wasn’t what I wanted. I am going to return and go to school.”

“What did you want, Maria?” Michael questioned.

Maria was playing with her hands in her lap. “I don’t know. Maybe, I had it and lost it somewhere along the way.”

Michael un-shouldered his backpack and sat down. He waited as some more fans came by, bringing their friends and more items for Maria to sign. Word was getting out that the singer, Maria DeLuca, was in the union building.

More and more students were collecting just out of the range of the two people trying to discover if the past they once shared was still there, hidden by time. Michael quickly tired of trying to get a few words between the requests for her autograph. He was, also, uncomfortable with the crowd growing around them. “Maria, it is good seeing you. I have a class coming up. I hope I will see you more later.” Michael stood and readjusted his backpack.

“Wait, Michael, when do you get out of class?” Maria almost pleaded.

“I am through by 4:30 this afternoon, Maria. Why do you ask?” Michael stated.

“Look, if it is all right, I will meet you in front of the Pan American Center basketball arena. I have a car and I will pick you up. Michael, I need to talk to you. Please say you will be there.” Maria had the trace of tears in her eyes as she made this request.

Michael nodded and as he left, the fans sensing that Maria was no longer occupied with private concerns, crowded around her. Michael sighed as he engaged his long legged lope down the sidewalk to his drafting class. Maria was just another nail in his coffin. She apparently had what she wanted, the adoring fans and the fame she never had as a child. Was there any place for the likes of him in her life?

Normally, Michael was absorbed in his classes. He was doing what he wanted and he had been seeing a future for himself, not a future for the aliens, but for himself alone. Seeing Maria was disturbing. In a way, he was regretting making the date to see her that afternoon, but then, he also was excited about being with her once again, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Michael was not late getting to the basketball arena. He unshouldered his pack and leaned against the columns in front of the building. At 4:30 exactly, a dark car drove up. It had heavily tinted windows. As it pulled up beside him, the windows rolled down, and inside, he saw Maria. It, almost, took his breath away. She had hiked up her skirt to make driving easier and this showed a magnificent amount of legs.

Just the animal lust he had for her, made his breathing heavy. He opened the back door and threw in his backpack. Then, entering the front door, the faint odor of her perfume was almost more that he could stand.

“Well, Michael, are there any cute girls in your life?” Maria started the conversation.

The anger he had been pushing to the back of his mind started to rise. “Maria, you know that there never was anyone, but you. You are the one who left, not me. The answer is no! I work and go to school and that is it.”

Maria looked chagrined, “I am sorry, Michael. That was the wrong mode. That was the mode of the tour people who have and, also, shed relationships like they do their clothes.”

“Well, Maria, are their any good looking guys in your life?” Michael mimicked.

Maria look embarrassed and worried, “Yes, Michael, I won’t lie to you. There were men in my life. They took what they wanted and left me with not even good memories.”

Michael wanted to be angry with her. He had remained faithful to their memory and she seemed to have cast that same memory aside trampling it as she proceeded on her way to fame. Then, Michael remembered something Liz had said to him when she was worried about getting back with Max, “Love was not about forgiving what was in the past, but getting around that and making new memories for the future.”

As Maria slowed to a traffic light, she said, “Look, Michael, maybe this is a bad idea. I will take you back to campus if you want. I don’t know what I wanted, but I do not want to hurt you any more. I just needed to talk to someone from my past. You were the strongest friend I had. What I wanted to say would not be things I would say to Liz, or even Alex. I needed something and you were always there for me to lean on. Maybe, that is wrong. Michael, I will go back and we can part as friends, I hope.”

“No, Maria, go whereever you were intending. Neither of us are kids anymore. We were friends and friends listen to each other. You leaned on me before and I leaned on you. Well, I, at least, have learned to stand alone, but that doesn’t mean I won’t support you.” Michael looked out the window. He really did love Maria and his mind was listening to Liz, who said that meant loving all of her even with her, mistakes and failures.

They pulled into the parking lot of one of the best hotels in Las Cruces. “Let’s get supper and, then, we can talk. You tell me when you have to be back to your dorm.”

Michael frowned, “Maria, I am only on a stipend. There is no way I could afford even one meal at a place like this.”

“Maria smiled, “I thought you said you had grown up. I am the one asking for a therapist. I should be the one who pays. Besides, here they will preserve our privacy and if we went other places, it would be like the campus with swarms of people coming by.”

Michael followed her as she entered the elevator. Finally, getting off at a floor and opening a door that led not to the crowded room, Michael knew from his few times staying away from home, but to a suite of rooms and an overlooking balcony. Maria indicated the bathroom for Michael to freshen up and it was so immaculate that he was almost afraid to take a piss. While he was there, Maria phoned in an order. Shortly after he came back to the living room, there was delivered a cart.

The table was set up on the balcony with candles not yet needed as the sun was just deciding to set. Michael was treated to several different meats and vegetables. Maria was almost a vegetarian, but she tried to have an assortment of foods that she thought Michael would like. He was surprised that she served him. They sat and ate, making small talk about the city below and the beauty of the sun in the west reflecting off the mountains in the east giving them a pink glow just before it made its last gasp and night fell.

Now there is nothing wrong with college food. It is wholesome and tasty enough, but it is institutionalized. That means it lacks character. The meats and vegetables served here were fragrant with individual spices. Where Michael, as most students did, just ate to keep going at the cafeteria, here, each dish was a pleasure and an experience.

This Maria was easy to talk to. She was knowledgeable and she had stories that, soon, she was sharing about traveling on the road. There were so many interesting experiences Michael wondered what was the underlying trouble that he sensed. The winter breeze, that was common in Las Cruces, was so pleasant that just being here was a pleasure.

Finally, as they were drinking the most delectable coffee he had ever tasted, Maria appeared to run down. There was a silence that made Michael wonder what he was supposed to say. The experiences he had about rescuing Alex and the fact that Liz had been kidnapped as well, the final pairing of the aliens and humans and the comfort they seemed to be finding with each other had not been brought up.

Finally, Maria said, “It is all a lie, Michael. The glamour, the excitement and the fame are all lies. The pay was my soul. I enjoyed the singing, but I tired of singing the play list they made up for me. I tired of smiling when I wanted to drop. The men I met didn’t like me, much less have any love for me. They wanted to use me to, someway, get fame for themselves. The excitement was marred by the fact this was orchestrated by the managers and producers.

I admit that it was a pleasure to see the fans this afternoon, even if I more wanted more to talk to you. They genuinely like my music and want to tell me that they do. I made a decision. Michael I am quitting the tour. I am returning college. I graduated from whatever they called that private school they insisted I take. The only question, now, is what college to go to.”

She looked at Michael and, almost, waited for him to say something. Michael had no idea of what to say. Did she mean she, was going to come to NMSU and they would have a chance to renew their relationship? She apparently had a lot of baggage, but Michael still had that warm place in his heart where she had never left.

Then, he thought, “Can I afford to live through another break up if that is all she was capable of promising?” Because of the intensity of emotions in the aliens they did not do well with the ups and downs of many affairs. Did Michael want to make himself vulnerable again?

“Again, what are you doing here, Maria? Are you considering NMSU?” Michael asked with the fortitude, he could muster.

“Michael, at one time, I thought I loved you very much. I think you always did love me. I do not want to came back here if It would bring you pain. You meant too much to me. No, Michael, that wasn’t quite right. You do still mean to much to me to hurt.” Maria mentioned.

Michael did not know what he should say. He had carefully shut down all of his emotions the minute she started talking about her adventures, which alluded to her affairs, even if she didn’t list them separately. “I am not a child anymore, Maria. I have learned to stand on my own. If you want to come back here, I won’t let it hurt me. I will be to whatever degree of friend you want. Michael stood and prepared to retrieve his backpack. Maria remained seated.

“That is, not exactly, what I want,” she sighed, “but, I guess, I will take whatever I can get”

That did it. Michael had tried to hold back his emotions as best as he could. “Then tell me, Maria, what the hell do you want? I made mistakes in the beginning, but I have striven to learn from those mistakes. I gave you the space you wanted and let you go. I have agreed to be whatever you want me to be. Again, Maria, you tell me what the hell do you want of me!”

Maria started to cry. Crying wasn’t fair, but this wasn’t a ploy. She wasn’t sure what she wanted seeing Michael again. Maybe, she had wanted him to explode, like he was finally doing. Maybe, she wanted him to slap her and throw her on the bed. No, that kind of Michael wouldn’t be what she wanted.

She squeezed her eyes and remembered that night when she thought she was going to loose him. How all his faults had melted and she had allowed him first, to take her virginity and then, she joyfully returned all the love she was able. She remembered the other nights when she felt so satisfied while knowing that he wanted a deep love that, at the time she was incapable of giving.

Maria asked herself, was she, now, capable of giving this love? Yes that is what she wanted. She wanted him to melt away all of her faults and take her and teach her to find that very deep love that she had never experienced.

Michael had every intention of leaving and hitchhiking back to the campus, but the voice of Liz wouldn’t get out of his head. “You aren’t looking to forget or forgive, but you are going to proceed through the future, making memories that are yours alone. You are going to learn to not remember what was done in the past. You do not live in the past. You only live in the present and hope to live in the future."

When he thought about it, Michael was sure that the day that Max healed Liz was the turning point for all the aliens. That was the day when they had a future. They weren’t just going to be killed in some distant war, but they were going to have mates, families and fit in like they had never done before.

Michael dropped his bag, turned and walked to the sobbing Maria. His strong hands lifted her up to stand beside him. She had lost a lot of baby fat since she had been in high school. He did crush her against his chest and, yes, it hurt, but it also was so intense that Maria knew that he still loved her.

He, almost, whispered his voice was so low, “Maria I have always loved you. There will always be a safe place for you in my heart. Liz says I must neither forgive nor forget, but just get by the past. I have nothing to either forgive or forget, but I leave that to you. Learn to forgive yourself."

Michael picked her up and carried her to the bed in the room off the suite. He gently deposited her there. Then almost embarrassed, he said, “I am sorry, Maria, I let things get too far. I don’t carry condoms in my wallet, anymore. I just do not expect to find an occasion to use them. Michael started to step back.

“Michael, I know how this must look,” Maria removed a box of condoms from her luggage. “I told you the men in my life do not care for me. I have to take care of myself.”

“No, Maria, you have no idea of how or what I think.” Michael was talking. His hands were trembling as they worried with the buttons of her blouse. Finally, the garment was opened. He reached behind her back to undo the clasp of her bra. Lifting her a little to remove the garments, she was finally displayed to him as a vision from his dream. They weren’t high school kids any more. He was still shaking when he lifted her hips and slid her skirt and panties off her silken legs in one motion.

Michael stood before her. He wanted her acceptance. He removed his shirt, pants and boxers, He hadn’t bothered to turn off the lights. As he stood before her awaiting inspection, Michael wondered how much she had truly grown.

Maria was spellbound watching him. The men she had known the last year and a half did not have half of Michael’s confidence. Maria remembered the insecure young man she had left and compared him with the strong man now facing now. When Michael finally crawled on the bed with her, he released all his emotions. Opening up to her before, had still been filled with his insecurities. Now, he flooded her with alien emotion. She didn’t see flashes, but rather she saw hallucinations.

She saw them rescuing Alex. She saw Kyle finally killing Nasado and she felt the love he had for Tess which was the start of the alien desire. Maria understood that she, now also, had opened up and had disclosed her whole life, the good and the bad. She was vulnerable and, if Michael was going to reject her, this would be the time he would do it.

Then, Maria saw Liz some place deep inside of Michael. What was Liz doing there? She heard the wisdom that Liz had discovered within her self. She saw that Michael was following this philosophy and trying to tell her he would be, for her, whatever she wanted. Maria had no question, now. If this was the welcome promised, she was going to come to the university for sure. She had the juvenile desire of the tour out of her system. Now, she wanted to find the others she had grown up with and become another couple as they, also, had promised each other in their childhood.

Maria brought Michael back on campus in time for morning classes. Michael was sure Max was worried. He would have to find him and explain at least a little of what he had been doing.

It would be years later that Maria would understand that Michael had confidence, not from experience with other women, but from the return of his dream that he had hoped for, for so long.
-----------------------------------------
Can you imagine Max as Joe Friday from the old TV show Dragnet? Then imagine him with a hot partner and you have Dragnet New Mexico

Begonia9508
Natalie36
timelord31
CandyLand In Second Chance for Antar and in Liz Come back i worked extra hard to do scenes with Maria and Michael. I write Dreamer but i usually try to make Maria and Michael strong. i wrote Acommidation because i never read a ground zero that made any sense. It is a sad story about Max and Maria replacing Liz and Michael in each other's lives. I try to use M/M when I can.

Chapter 15

That afternoon when Liz made it back to the dorm, she found a message on her answering machine. “Liz, this is Maria, please call so we can get together while I am in town.”

Liz immediately called the number. “Maria,” Liz squealed. No one had heard from Maria in several months. As the letters to Michael became less and less frequent, letters to her other friends were even more scarce. “What have you been doing with yourself?”

“Yeah, Hi babe. Do you have time tonight, that I could meet you somewhere and we could talk?” Maria requested.

“Of Course, Maria. Just tell me where,” Liz exclaimed excitedly.

“There is a road with a stop light that comes right out of the middle of the campus. There is a 7-11 gas station across from it. How about I meet you on campus near that intersection. I will be driving a dark car. Would 6:00 be about right?” Maria asked.

Liz was waiting. She had called Max and he told her he had just talked to Michael. Liz promised to call Max as soon as she got back. The dark car drove up and, for a moment, Liz was a little afraid. The window rolled down and the cheerful voice of Maria was heard, “Chica, how have you been?”

Maria explained that for them to have any time to talk, they would need to go somewhere private. She again suggested having dinner in her hotel room.

Like Michael, Liz was not used to a suite of rooms like this. Again they had supper on the balcony. The beauty was still there, but Maria didn’t have the reservations she’d had the night before.

“How was the tour, Maria? Tell me all about it,” Liz was excitedly asking.

This time, Maria made no preamble. “Liz, it may have been at the same time the most intense learning experience of my life and the most horrible emotional experience. I learned things about people that I never would have learned any other way. I, also, got hurt by people more than I ever did in my life.”

Maria went on to tell about the men who made love to , but they were experiences far from love. She told about the restrictions on her singing. She told about the cities she had visited and the country she had seen. She concluded, “Hon, I have, now, seen it all and I quit the tour.”

Liz looked at her. Since they were kids, Maria had told of wanting to be on tour. This was quite an admission for her to say the tour was not what she expected. “What are you going to do now?” Liz asked.

“I don’t know. I am thinking of coming to New Mexico State University. I can major in music and, maybe, teach music or write, but I want a family and the tour wasn’t that.” Maria sounded definite in her mind.

Coming to New Mexico State, that was grand. Now, Liz would have a close friend on campus. Then, Liz thought, “What about Michael?”

Maria smiled, “I saw him last night. We talked way into the night. Well, we did a bit more than talk. I got him back to campus early this morning.”

“You and Michael made up then?” Liz asked thinking out loud, “Would Michael forgive you that quickly.”

Maria smiled again, “Maybe, but this time when we made love, I didn’t get flashes, I got whole visions. I saw you there in his mind. You kept telling him that it was not enough to forgive and forget, but you had to move on, not thinking about the past and only consider the future. Since when did you become the great philosopher?”

Liz shrugged, “I was talking to Michael one night. I was explaining the problems Max and I were going to have getting back together. At that time, I didn’t know that Max hadn’t slept with Tess and got her pregnant. I was explaining to Michael that I intended to not worry about what Max had done. I wanted Max to not worry about what he thought I had done. I just wanted to move on and make loves for the future. I was more or less talking to myself, I guess Michael was listening closer than I thought.”

“Well, it was good. Michael and I got distracted from the talking stage. Tell me how you found Alex.” Maria directed.

“Well, we couldn’t find Alex with alien powers, so they had to wait until Nasado kidnapped me. I am never going to gripe about Isabel infiltrating my dreams again. She said she had done it so often trying to find Max that we were attuned to each other. Nasado was keeping us in an old cave on the Mescalaro reservation.

Max, Isabel, Kyle and Tess broke into the cave and Kyle went berserk when he saw Nasado. It seems he was forced to hide one time while Nasado was beating Tess. Kyle was just determined that Nasado would not live.

Alex and Isabel are now at the university in Albuquerque and I understand they are an item. Kyle and Tess got married and are working and going to school at the extension college at Roswell.” Liz just stopped. She didn’t see any reason to go into the terrible fight she and Max had with their folks to let them go to the same college. There was no reason, either. to tell Maria about the ultimatum, Kyle and Tess had made to Jim, although it was more the interest in Maria’s mom that got him out of depression and back to work.

Maria turned to Liz, “Do you want a roommate next semester?”

Liz kinda smirked, “Sorry, Maria, I already have one for next sememter.”

Maria was clearly disappointed, “Who is she?”

“Not a she, Maria, a he. Max and I are getting our own apartment next semester,” Liz explained.

When Liz got back to her room, she quickly called Max. He had had a long talk with Michael. Liz just said, “Max, it is a lot more complicated than I thought. Max already knew that from trying to figure what Michael had said.

Tess and Kyle were having the most difficult time. Neither could attend classes more than half time. They were working and trying to go to school. Tess had no one to help her and Kyle had not saved because he was partially supporting his father as he continued to played with his band.

Kyle was determined that they were going to make it. Tess was thinking of quitting school and working to just put Kyle through. At this time, Kyle wasn’t willing for her to do this. Some had said that is what they got for getting married. They didn’t really have a choice. Tess had no one and if Kyle had stayed at home, Jim would never have seen the need to collect him self and go back to work. Kyle and Tess felt that they were forced by circumstance to go ahead and cement their relationship.

Now, they had to find the ability to keep going. Next semester they would both have lottery scholarships and that would pay tuition, but not much more. Jim, finally, had a solution. He was getting very involved with Amy. They were thinking of getting married. Amy was very unsure of marriage because her relations with men period, were difficult.

Jim suggested that he move in with her. He would keep up the mortgage on his old house, at least for a while. Kyle and Tess could live there until he decided what to do with the house. Thankfully, the mortgage was several years old and the payments were not much more than they were paying for rent. If the sheriff and Amy did tie the knot, maybe the couple Kyle and Tess could take over the mortgage and pay a down payment to Jim at some later date.

That was settled and it gave Kyle and his wife security through the spring semester. If anything their love was stronger. Kyle knew every fear that Tess possessed. Tess, without Nasado, could really turn her love to Kyle whom she was a lot more comfortable with, than she would ever have been with Max. Tess was still taking general studies. She hadn’t decided what she was going to major in.

Kyle was more and more into the idea that he wanted to teach Physical Education and Health. Sports had meant a lot to him and he, sometimes regretted that he hadn’t been able to pursue his sports scholarship. Then, he turned over in bed and embraced the lady beside him and asked himself. “What scholarship?”

Christmas time was a time of reckoning. Liz and Max came home. Their respective parents were mollified with the good grades they both had. Both fathers still harbored a bit of resentment about not having their dreams of having children in prestigious colleges.

Alex, of course, was the most welcome. His parents had dropped any plans of moving. They had a son, they were a family and they wanted to be near him as much as they could convince him to come home. The Whitmans were also becoming aware that they were on the way to having a daughter. They were learning more and more why their son was in love with the tall blonde.

Isabel, was welcomed at her home. Philip was very interested in what she was taking and was she happy at her school. After they had all spent some time with their families, Kyle invited them on the first Saturday of their winter break to meet at their house. He explained that he could not afford to offer them much in the way of refreshments but he would like to see everyone. Liz called everyone and arranged a pot luck party so it wouldn’t be so hard on Kyle.

Michael had no one to return to. He had nothing left in Roswell, so he stayed at Las Cruces. Maria blew into Roswell that Saturday afternoon. When she called Liz, Liz insisted she come to Kyle’s party. Maria worried that there would be many questions, which she didn’t want to answer and some she couldn’t answer.

Maria did try to explain that she was through with the tour. She was going to settle down and attend college next year. Maria had rented an apartment across from the school and already moved what stuff her transitory life had accumulated.

Maria would spend some time in Roswell. She was uncomfortable at her home with Jim there with her mom. Kyle suggested that since his dad had displaced , why didn’t she stay in his old room at the Valenti house.

Maria hadn’t ever been that close to Kyle. The last time she had seen Tess, she was screaming for some one to kill her. Maria quickly looked at Tess and Tess smiled. “Maria, we have never been friends. Maybe, this would give us a chance to know each other better.”

Back in her mind, Maria wanted to know more about what had happened with Tess and Nasado. Maria was still not at all clear about the deception Nasado had used on everyone and the deception he used when they thought someone had killed Alex. Maria called Amy she hadn’t taken her luggage out of her car when she stopped by her old house. She explained she was going to stay with Kyle and Tess. She would be by sometime, tomorrow, to see her mom.

Neither the couple, Max and Liz, or the couple, Isabel and Alex, let on to their parents that they had tightly bonded over the first semester. Isabel and Alex only had to experience the discomfort of being apart from each other, but Max and Liz had another problem.

They had both given up their rooms in the dorm to be at the apartment they rented in Las Cruces. It was a small place, but they were satisfied that it would allow them to be together. Their next step was to notify their folks of this change. College would be out until the middle of January, but they were forcing themselves to announce this new development shortly after New Years. They wanted the two weeks in January to prepare their apartment for their new life.

Sunday morning, Maria got up. Tess had fixed a breakfast of eggs and sausage. Maria, when getting a glass of milk, saw how bare their refrigerator was. Kyle left early to go about some business or the other. Maria and Tess were sitting at the table talking.

“You mean that most of the time you were here with all of us, it was really Nasado?” Maria marveled.

“Yes, most of the time that junior year, I was locked in a dark room. Nasado would impersonate me and, then, when he thought I would have a chance to seduce Max, he came back and let me out for a time.” Tess explained.

“Whoa, you mean that it was Nasado and not you that was kissing Max at the prom? His majesty was making out with an alien man!” Maria was laughing.

“No, Maria, you have it wrong. Nasado had no sex. He was made for a servant and he was not able to reproduce. That is why it was so easy to hide the truth from him about me being pregnant. I told him I was and he really didn’t understand much more about it,” Tess stated.

“You did lay up with Max that night, didn’t you?” Maria couldn’t keep from asking.

“Actually, we were just sitting. I warped Max into thinking he had taken off my clothes and made love to me on a blanket he had brought.” Tess said wringing her hands in nervousness.

“Max had never had sex with anyone so it wasn’t hard. That was good because, at that time, I hadn‘t slept with anyone either. Neither of us really knew how sex was supposed to feel.” Tess had agreed to answer Maria’s questions because Maria was the one remaining person of the group who still had doubts about her.

“I do not understand about Alex. How was it accomplished that we all thought he was dead?” Maria asked.

I had been threatening to not go back to Antar. I wanted to stay here. I wanted to be free of Nasado and try to live a life on my own. He had already been using Alex to translate the book. He connected Alex to a computer that would connect again to the one in the granolith. He made it appear that I killed Alex so I would be afraid to stay on earth. Max almost killed me twice because of what Nasado set up. It was only Kyle’s faith in me that gave me protection. Tess said.

“Why did Nasado kidnap Liz?” Maria wanted to know.

Tess was almost shivering because the intensity of these memories. “That was his greatest mistake. The computer needed someone who had a science background. Isabel was very much in tune to Liz. It seems that when Isabel wanted to find Max instead of dream walking him, she would always dream walk Liz. The second mistake Nasado made connecting Liz to the computer with Alex, was that Liz managed to take over the computer. Liz told the computer stories, just like a child. She gave it puzzles and she taught it to lie and change the rules just for fun. That is the way we broke in and destroyed Nasado.”

Maria had missed all of this. She sighed. She didn’t consider herself a brave person and it sounded like the group had many dangerous adventures. She was just so happy that Liz and Alex were safe. She was learning to like Tess a lot more. Then, Maria thought of the lack of anything in the refrigerator and started to wonder how Tess and Kyle were faring. “How are you and Kyle making ends meet? I know that you only have two part time jobs?” she asked.

Tess had to grimace over this one. “We are having a rough time, but we are together and both of us are attending college. I am thinking of dropping out and working full time to put Kyle through. We stay together because we have nothing to turn to separately. I do love Kyle and I would have loved him sooner if Nasado hadn’t had that insane drive to make me go to Max and have an heir. The funny thing is, we can’t mate and have children. We can only have children with humans. There is something missing in our DNA that makes us need a human component.” Tess was trying to be open with Maria.

“I find you so different, sitting here talking, than when you were here before. I think we can almost be friends and if my mom and Jim do anything, we may even become family.” Maria was seeing Tess differently. Then, Maria turned to Tess. Is there someway I can help you? I have so much and my being here is really going to put a strain on your budget.”

Tess swallowed, she had her pride, but she also knew that they, at the moment, didn’t have enough food in the house to last the two of them through the week, much less with Maria also. “Don’t worry, Maria. We will get through, someway. We always have.”

An idea was forming in Maria’s mind. “Tess, we will all eat with our families on Christmas, but it might be fun if we could have a group party Christmas Eve. You allow us to use your house and we will bring the fixings.”

Tess frowned. “Maria, I have to work Christmas Eve. I won’t get out until six that evening. I won’t have time to get the house ready or anything.”

“Tess if you and Kyle let us use your house for a Christmas Eve party, then, we will help you with the house and do all the work getting ready.” Maria was working overtime in her mind. Kyle’s dad had a freezer, which he kept full of TV dinners. Maria had taken the liberty of looking inside it. It was empty. Kyle and Tess had consumed whatever Jim had left.
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Stories by Ken
Can you imagine Max as Joe Friday from the old TV show Dragnet? Then imagine him with a hot partner and you have Dragnet New Mexico

begonia9508
natalie36

Chapter 16

Maria made it a point to see Liz and Isabel. They thought this would be a grand idea. Tess was working the late shift, so for two days Liz, Isabel and Maria came over in the morning and helped her clean the house.

Max got a tree and they each bought ornaments and lights to put on it. Kyle was sensitive about needing help and he asked what was going on. Maria sweetly took him aside and told him they were going to have a Christmas Eve party and Tess had allowed them to have it here. Since she was working, the girls had come over in the morning to help get the house ready. Kyle frowned, but he guessed it was all right.

The afternoon of the second day, Maria told everyone she had business away so she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Maria drove to Las Cruces. She found Michael just sitting around the almost empty dorm watching TV. Michael was a little cross when she came up to him.

“Michael, won’t you please come to Roswell with me? I will bring you back the day after Christmas. We can stay in a motel room and you can come to the Christmas Eve party we are having at Kyle’s place. You can, also, come to Christmas dinner with me at my mom’s,” Maria pleaded.

It took a , but finally, Maria was able to convince Michael that he was doing this for her and him being with her would make her Christmas better. Maria, phoned Kyle and told him she had business and wouldn’t make it back to his house that night. Maria and Michael spent the night at the Holiday Inn at Las Cruces.

Christmas Eve morning.

Michael was with Maria when they came to Kyle’s place to fix the dinner for that night. Tess went off to work that afternoon and Maria’s plan came into existence. Here is how she planned it. Liz didn’t like ham, but would eat turkey. Michael hated turkey, but he loved ham fixed any way they could. Maria loved pecan pie. Max’s favorite was cherry. Liz brought two pumkin pies from the Crashdown. The whole dinner was like that. They had so many different dishes and they had a large ham and a large turkey.

In fact, the turkey wouldn’t fit in the oven at the Valenti’s home so Liz asked her mother to bake it for them. They hoped that Kyle wouldn’t get his pride hurt. Liz had also brought a Men in Blackberry pie that she knew was Kyle’s favorite. Sure he and Tess would see what they were doing, but Maria hoped that the young Valenti family would accept the leftovers in the spirit that the group was giving them.

When Tess and Kyle got home that evening, the place smelled so good that neither of them could say anything. Both Tess and Kyle were tired, but having all the group together and the wonderful food, they stayed up until time for midnight services. Max had already agreed to go with Liz and Alex had talked Isabel into going also. Michael and Maria were anxious to get back to their motel. Kyle and Tess were exhausted and after the group helped clean everything up, they simply went to bed. Their refrigerator was stuffed, but they hadn’t thought of how much food was in a big turkey and, also, a big ham.

Individual helpings of pie had been served, but much of the pie was wrapped and put in the freezer. Things like potatoes and yams were simply stored in the a cool place in the garage. There were so many things that were packed away that Kyle and Tess would have plenty to last them for a long time. Both of them were too tired to notice tonight.

Max and Isabel had many questions about how they fit into earth’s religions. Max had solved his problem long ago when the days he spent with Liz were so good. He decided that he believed in her and he would follow her in whatever faith she wanted to hold. Isabel decided that was a good thing, so she also followed Alex. The service they were attending tonight was an interfaith service. The Evans elders were there, also. Of course, the Parkers always attended services.

At the motel Maria and Michael had had a good night of loving. Propped up on one elbow, Maria was looking at Michael. “I understand you are loosing your roommate next semester,” she said.

“I guess Max is going to make his relationship with Liz stronger,” Michael answered.

“Well how about getting a new roommate? If you stay in the dorm, you are going to have to live with God knows who. You have enough trouble with people, you know. How do you intend to get along with a stranger? If you move in with me in my apartment you don’t have to conceal anything and you already know me so when we get in a fight you know what to expect.” Maria had spent the last few weeks trying to formulate how she was going to say this.

Michael frowned, “Maria, I am not a kept man. I can’t afford to contribute any more than the amount of my dorm board to this apartment and I am sure that would not be near my half of the rent, much less the food bill.”

“Michael, I am a woman who threw away something that she shouldn’t have. If I do not have a close relationship with you, I won’t ever have a chance of getting what I lost back. If you have to constantly conceal your abilities from a roommate then you are going to have a harder time with your studies. I made plenty of money singing. I have found that this money doesn’t have any meaning without the things I lost. It is just my way of trying to go to school and have a roommate, that I know and to help a friend do the same.” Maria knew that Michael’s mind might go either way. He was unpredictable in how he thought. He could view this as her trying to buy him, or he could understand that she didn’t want to start school without being with someone she knew any more than he did. It would be a toss up.

Kyle got up the next morning. He had enjoyed the party. They didn’t have enough money to do this without help. The group pitching in that way had made a merry Christmas, indeed. He turned over and though she was still asleep, he put his arm around Tess. He pulled her closer to him and in her sleep, she wiggled to curl up against his body.

Kyle had been talking to a college counselor the last two days. He had found a way to get help for his college. He could get a college loan. He had made good grades, so far. He could, now, get the lottery scholarship that New Mexico offered to second semester freshmen. If he would teach in a poorer school district, he could get half of the college loan canceled.

In Kyle’s mind, he was wondering what Tess wanted to do. If she was interested in teaching, she could do the same. They might get enough money to see themselves through the four years and start out life without horrible government loans over their heads. The counselor had listened to Kyle as he told a version of his relationship with Tess.

He had explained that Tess was an orphan, they guessed, since her father hadn’t been seen for some time. Kyle avoided the fact that he had killed Nasado for the perverted creature he was. This was Christmas day and with the friendship he felt from the party of the group last night, Kyle was starting to feel that things might be looking up.

He gave Tess one last hug and leaned over to give her a kiss and he went for the showers. Kyle had done without lunches for a long time and he had bought Tess a new light weight jacket. It just went so good with her blond hair. Roswell usually had mild winters, but in the mornings it could be a bit frosty. This jacket was a light weight down and could be put into a small stuff bag to carry in a school pack on the way home. It wasn’t much but Kyle wanted to buy his wife something that was pretty but he, also, felt that he had to buy something functional.

Kyle was sitting in the living room looking at the tree that the group had given them. He had turned on the lights and somewhere way back in his childhood, the memory resided of sitting and looking at the blinking lights. Kyle and his dad had not had any special Christmas except for the one Tess orchestrated two years ago. Last year, they had been together, but their situation was still in question, at least to others. They had celebrated quietly at home.

Tess came out of the shower. She had her underclothes on and was wearing her robe, but she hadn’t decided to dress yet. Kyle could still smell the residual fragrance of her shampoo made stronger by the fact that she had just been using her hair dryer. Her soap scented body was so clean and fresh as she curled up on the couch beside him. For several minutes, they both just watched the blinking lights of the tree.

Two years ago, even though Tess had insisted Kyle and his dad put up a tree and she had fixed a dinner, the turbulence in her life caused by Nasado had not allowed her to fully enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. Last year, she thought, they were just trying to find their way together.

Next year, Tess had already decided she wanted to go with the others to Christmas services. Tess wasn’t part of Earth’s religions any more than the other four aliens, but she just wanted to be part of something that would make her closer to the other three couples. Well, maybe only two, no one had any idea about what was to happen between Maria and Michael.

Tess didn’t feel like an alien anymore. She was just a person who had abilities. She wasn’t a queen and no longer desired the company of a king. She had her prince and she just wanted to fulfill his desires.

Kyle had worried about how to give Tess the jacket. He didn’t want her to feel bad if she was unable to get him anything. Kyle felt that her presence had been more than enough for many Christmases. He had put the jacket in its stuff bag. It was about six inches in diameter and a little more than a foot long.

When he handed it to Tess, she was at loss as to what it was. Kyle had to remember that there were still many mysteries about the way people did things that were a surprise to her. Kyle took the bag and pulled the light weight jacket out of the bag. He shook it a few times and the down puffed up. Kyle extended his hand and, as Tess stood, he placed the jacket around her shoulders.

The Jacket was a light, silvery blue. It even had a hood rolled up in the collar. Kyle waited to see if she would have a favorable reaction. He hadn’t remembered that, except for the trivials they had exchanged last Christmas, this was one of the first things she had ever been given.

Kyle directed her over to a mirror so she could see herself in the jacket. Tears formed in her blue eyes and she hugged the jacket tighter.

She turned to Kyle. Before she could say anything, he told her, “Tess what I wanted most, you have given me. I wanted a family and that is what we now have the ability to make. First, you and me and, then, if what you read in the book is correct, we will have several little part-alien children zapping about the house.

We might, even by that time, have a grand father and grand mother to help spoil them if dad and Amy keep going.” Kyle hadn’t yet had a chance to explain what he found out about the government loans to Tess.

Max and Liz had gotten up early. Liz called him and he came over by the time she was showered and dressed. The Evans family, meaning Philip, had gotten over his pique over the fact that Max had chosen his own school. So, Max hoped that dinner with his folks would be pleasant.

Jeff had decided that Max had been telling the truth when he said he would take care of his daughter. Maybe, Liz was grown up and, now, Jeff could look forward to the happiness of his daughter as happiness for himself. The Crashdown was closed for the , so when Max appeared at the door, Liz let him in.


Max was greeted by Nancy and Jeff in their robes. He gave Liz a morning kiss and they had coffee with her folks. Jeff and Nancy would be coming over to the Evans for dinner.

Alex was to be with his parents. This was the second Christmas they had with him, since his disappearance. They felt that was strictly a gift since he had been given up for dead. Isabel wanted to be with her parents, but she promised Alex that she would be over to his house the minute dinner was over.

Liz looked at her parents as they all sat around a table in the closed restaurant. She wondered how, after next week, they were going to take the announcement that she and Max were going to share an apartment together.

Liz didn’t want to borrow trouble today but they would have to make an announcement soon because they needed to get back to Las Cruces to get their apartment ready.

It was after midnight when Michael and Maria got back to their room at the motel. Michael still couldn’t get used to the extravagance that Maria showed in the room she chose. They just sat for a time on the bed. Maria was in his arms and he was kissing her lightly on the head.

“You did real well for Kyle and Tess. I think they enjoyed the party and it didn’t cost them anything. I would like to see their faces when they see the food that you all placed in their refrigerator and freezer.” Michael was thinking about the fact that Kyle and Tess were trying so hard to be together and how little they had.

Maria looked up at him, “I spent several years earning that money doing what I was told. Now, I want to spend it without anyone telling me I can’t. Michael, I also want you to come to my apartment next semester. We fight, but if neither of us leaves, we always make up.”

Michael just shook his head, “Maria, I still would feel that I am living off you. I do not know if I can take that.”

“Michael, if you get a human roommate that you do not know. How are you going to hide some of the things you do? One mistake and he knows all about you. With me, we can be together to whatever extent you want. You can even have separate rooms if that is what you want, but I won’t have to face the world alone.

Michael, you are not the only one that fears the unknown.” Maria had brought , again, things which were bothering Michael. He also hadn’t thought it through that she might be scared of an unknown situation as much as he.

After making love that night, (this time Michael had his own condom,) Michael lay with Maria snuggled in his arms. He was thinking about what she had said. He knew that she appeared self-sufficient but deep down, Maria was just a little girl whose father had run off when she was very small. Maria had many fears.

Maria and Michael still had to face dinner at Amy’s or, as they should begin to call it, Amy and Jim’s.

Amy knew that her daughter was not happy how the tour turned out. She might have warned Maria, but Maria was headstrong and she had to learn a lot of things for herself.

Kyle and Tess were there. Privately, Tess caught Maria when no one else was around. “That was nice, Marie, what you all did. I don’t like to say it, but Kyle and I were just scraping by. Kyle thinks he has a way for us to get through school, at least for a few years. He is going to tell me about it tomorrow.

Kyle had been checking and he was right. They could get some help. He needed to see what Tess thought about it.

When he came home, he found her working in their kitchen. She had been carrying almost a full time job. This would make many things easier.

“Tess, what major are you considering?” he asked her.

Tess wiped her hands and sat down. “I haven’t really had time to think about it. I was figuring that I would have to drop out anyway. It is too hard for both of us to try to attend college.”

Kyle leaned forward, “Do you think you would ever consider teaching?”

Tess looked at him, “Yes, Kyle I had thought of that, but we have to be realistic. It is just too hard for both of to attend. I can quit and take a full time job and you go ahead and finish.”

Kyle shook his head, “No, I want to figure something else. Tess if you wanted to be a teacher, we could get a government loan. If we agreed to work in a poverty school, we could get a lot of the loan forgiven. That means we wouldn’t have to pay all of it back. We could get jobs in the same district and, by the time we had the loans paid off, we would have all that experience.”

Kyle released her hands. He leaned back. “Tess I just do not want to see you work so hard. I want you to be with me and this is a way we can do it.”

Kyle figured that it would take a few days, but maybe, Tess, would agree and many of their troubles would be over.

Kyle and Tess were getting set up for the next semester. Maria and Michael had left for Las Cruces, Alex and Isabel would return to Albuquerque when toward the middle of January. The New Year had come and gone. Now, Max and Liz had a problem to face. It was decided that they should, initially, face their respective parents alone. Max wasn’t sure he liked that, but Liz had assured him that she could handle her father better alone.

It was the sixth of January. Some called it twelfth night. For many people, it was a time to be rid of all the problems of the old year and present directions for the new one. Liz had told her folks she had something important to say.

“Daddy, mom, Max and I canceled our dorm rooms for next semester, Liz began.

Jeff frowned, “What do you intend to do, Liz? You aren’t quitting college are you?”

“No, daddy, Max and I have decided to rent an apartment together next year. We want a place that isn’t tied to the College schedule. Our jobs at the college will go through the holidays and it is too difficult to have to move out of the dorm and, then, move back in. This way, we will have a permanent residence.” Liz had worked on all the reasons that she and Max wanted the apartment. She even had the real reason that she and Max wanted to be together all the time and not just when they went on a date. She would only use that one if all the other reasons failed.

Jeff was, clearly, frowning. Liz knew that no matter what he said, the biggest reason he was against this was that he just didn’t want another step of her growing up. Liz had been paying all of her college costs. The only money he had given her was gifts that Nancy made him send. In his mind, somewhere, Jeff was saying that he would show Liz that she still needed her parents and she was trying to grow up too fast.

“Liz continued, “Daddy, I still need you and mama. But, I need you in a different way. Max and I are supporting ourselves. It is hard, but we are managing. We choose to do this because we want to.”

Liz figured that if given them time to think about it, they would see that this was inevitable. She went to bed.

Jeff and Nancy stayed up late that night. It took Jeff longer than it did Liz’s mother to see that this was just the next step. It wasn’t part of his plans, but he no longer had the right to make plans for Liz. He could either turn from Liz or he could help her. Nancy informed Jeff that she intended to help Liz and, if possible, make her relationship with Max work.

The next morning, Liz came down for breakfast. Jeff brought her the usual orange juice, “Do you and Max want us to bring the pickup up to Cruces and help you move your stuff?”

Liz stood and hugged her father. “We already moved, but we would like you and mom to come up and visit us some week end.”

It was later when Max came over. He tentatively looked into the restaurant to see if he was welcomed. Jeff came over and took Mac’s hand. “You take care of my little girl, you hear?”

With that, Max and Liz were ready to return and set up their new apartment.

Kyle and Tess would have to stay in Roswell this spring but the loan was being processed. They would also return to Las Cruces next year and they would both be going full time. They would either apply for married quarters or get an apartment near the school.

That night as they were going to bed, “Kyle, do you see how far we have come? Two years ago everyone wanted to kill me and, now, we have friends. I believe we have a future.” Tess curled up next to Kyle and their love became very precious. Nasado had intended for her to be executed, either here, or at Antar. That just wasn’t gonna happen as long as Kyle held her in his arms.

Back at Las Cruces, Michael had dropped his dorm assignment. He had moved his few things in with Maria. He was still troubled.

“Michael, if we were married and you had to go off for a year to work to earn money, we wouldn’t think twice about this. Why can’t you just look at this as I had a chance to work away for a time and earn a pile of money? Now we share because we are together,” Maria said with logic that she wasn’t sure even she could completely believe.

Michael yearned to tell Maria that if he had gone away for a year, indulging in the favors of other people, she would probably not accept him when he came back. The vision of Liz flashed before his eyes. “Not what is in the past but what you can make out of the future,” She had said. As the vision dimmed, Michael could swear that Liz was wearing a saffron robe sitting cross-legged in front of an incense burner. Liz-the-wise-woman.

Michael decided that, for the , he could offer Maria some sort of an anchor. He would accept living with her, for the time, and concentrate on getting an education that would give him a future to care for Maria in turn.

Max had had less problem with his family than did Liz. By now, his father had relinquished his personal dream of living his life through his children. Philip was concerned that the arrangement of Isabel and Alex wasn’t the one he would have planned. Then he thought, was Isabel ready to marry? Didn’t she need time to see if she could even have that close of relationship with a boy turning into a man?

Philip turned to Max. In his mind, he ran over the alternatives. Max could break up with the little woman of his choice. Then, whom could he turn to? Philip held his wife very dear. Life was a “crap shoot” in the best of times. Max felt that he had the grand prize with Liz. Maybe he was right. Best for Philip to make peace with Max’s choices, in the woman he chose to live with, the timing they chose in moving forth their lives and, finally, the career that both Max and Liz were preparing to follow.

Now, Max and Liz were now standing before their apartment. Last semester, they had been forced to explore love when they could find a place for it. Now, they would have the comfort to explore each other on a daily basis. They both knew that they were going to have to prove, first to them selves that this expanded relationship would not damage their college academic standing, it would strengthen their feeling about each other and at last show everyone else that they would have the maturity to make a house hold that was stable.

Max reached down and picked Liz up. With Liz in his arms, Max crossed the doorway while kissing her. Liz looked at him as he sat her down inside the room.

“Liz, I want to make this a ritual that we perform every time we enter a new house for the first time. When we are both aged and our passions are best expressed in fond memories, I still want us to christen our home as we first enter it with this ritual, even if we both are using a cane to support ourselves,” Max decreed.

That night, they walked out side their new apartment. Only a few years ago, their lives were racked with fears and doubts. Now they had gotten past those doubts. The four couples that had made attempts at starting relationships were firmly on their way to adulthood and they were anchors for each other.
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I enjoyed writing this story which started out as a story about Kyle and Tess. It turned into a story that could have ended the third season better to my satisfaction. Again I tackled Maria. I am satisfied how I portrayed her. She was strong in her own way but she made some difficult, but wrong decisions. Maria showed her strength by what she did for others and by returning to convince Michael that she also had fears. She needed him as much as she knew he needed her. Fear is only a weakness if you refuse to admit it.

Ken r
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Can you imagine Max as Joe Friday from the old TV show Dragnet? Then imagine him with a hot partner and you have Dragnet New Mexico