To Live Again (sequel to Picture) Mi/L 1/1 [COMPLETE]
Posted: Tue May 20, 2003 6:08 pm
Author: Polarchica516 or Polarchica77
Title: To Live Again
Rating: MATURE
Summary: Sequel to Picture (http://pub122.ezboard.com/fpolarattract ... =261.topic)
Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell! Trust me if I did, Michael and Liz would have been together.
Feedback: Please! I don’t know how far I plan on going with this so I’ll need it.
“How long have you known?” Michael Guerin asked his girlfriend, Liz Parker as they watched the stars. Liz had her head rested on Michael’s shoulder. They sat outside their respective hotel rooms. It was a bit chilly but they kept each other warm.
Liz sighed and placed her hand on Michael‘s, “A month. I wanted to tell you.”
Michael held her closer. When Liz had told him she was pregnant shortly after their long-awaited reunion, he was shocked. He wasn’t angry but a bit concerned about what this meant for her. She was carrying an alien baby after all. And most importantly, he was happy that a piece of him was living inside of her. He was going to be a *father*.
Rubbing his eyes with his hand, he smiled widely. “This is amazing, Liz.”
Liz smiled, sharing in his euphoria. He placed her hands on her small stomach. “It’s kind of strange to think that there is a little person living in there,” Liz said blissfully.
“*My* little person,” he said in awe. Looking her straight in the eye, he barely whispered, “*Our* little person.”
“I was scared first about how you would react,” Liz confessed.
Michael leaned his head back against the wall and looked up into the sky. “It feels like everything in my life has led up to this moment.”
Liz’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“It’s just that, sure, we’ve had our share of pain. More than a lot of people should go through. But, Liz, right now, I’m sitting with the mother of my child looking at the stars…”
Liz sighed deeply and a frown crossed her face, “Outside of my husband’s hotel room.”
Michael mood noticeably dampened, “About Max, Liz.”
Liz turned to face him, “I’m not going back. I know I’ve said that before but I can’t. I’m carrying our child and Max would think it was his and I can pretend to be his wife, Michael. But I’m not going to let him pretend to be a father.”
“I would be able to let you,” Michael replied seriously. “So what do you want to do? Get a divorce?”
“There is only one copy of our marriage certificate. It was a safety precaution really. I burned it the night I found out I was pregnant. So technically, our marriage never happened.”
“There are witnesses, Liz. People lose certificates everyday. There are ways around that.”
“I know. That’s why we need another idea,” Liz said while deep in thought.
As they thought of an idea, Michael couldn’t help but think about the day that his child was conceived.
~~Two Months Earlier~~
Michael Guerin absently picked at his hamburger and tried to ignore Maria’s insistent rambling. The four of them had finally found a place to settle down temporary but after two weeks on the road, anything seemed better than seeing endless road every day.
Glancing at Liz, Michael frowned at her tired expression. She had probably worked the late shift at Mac’s the local bar. Michael had almost gotten used to the lost expression in her eyes. They were full of defeat and it killed him to see her that way because he knew how she looked when she was truly happy.
But no one could possibly be happy living the life they were living. Maria punched Michael on the arm, violently breaking him out of his reverie. “Did you hear me, Michael?”
Michael looked at her, his lack of interest evident, and sighed heavily. “No, Maria. What was it?”
“Well there is this talent thing at Mac’s in a week and Mac knows some guy--this record guy--who wants to come out and see me. This could be my big break,” Maria said enthusiastically.
Max shook his head, “Maria, you know you can’t do that.”
“Why not? I’m better than working in a bar full of drunken middle-aged men, Max.”
Max pinned her with a cold glare. “We’ll draw attention to ourselves. You know we can’t do that.”
Maria rolled her eyes, “And prancing around in our little bar uniforms, isn’t?”
Liz turned to Max, “She’s right. I’m sick and tired of being a waitress when I know it’s not the best I can do, Max. There are these online college courses I was looking into..”
Slamming a hand down on the table, Max roared, “No. Did you guys plan this or something?”
“No, Max. I want to take these courses and Maria wants to be in the music business. Nothing has happened in a *year*, I think we can take a chance,” Liz argued. A flicker of hope danced in her eyes. But like Max always did, he diminished the hope in Liz’s eyes. In her life.
Liz stood up and angrily shouted, “Max, you always do this! You don’t let me write to my parents. You refuse to let me take college night classes. What are you trying to do, Max, protect us or try to kill any possibly we have of leading a normal life?”
“She’s right, Maxwell,” Michael said. Liz looked at him quickly and than averted her eyes. Max gapped at him in shock. “You can’t control them.”
“This has nothing to do with you, Michael,” Max growled.
Michael clenched his fists. “Oh. I think it does. You can’t treat them like this.”
“What do you know, Michael? You can’t even keep Maria with you for more than a day without pissing her off!”
“Maria isn’t my *wife*, Maxwell,” Michael ground out. Liz gave him a grateful small smile. Michael turned his attention back to Max. But Liz should be mine, he inwardly thought but quickly ignored it. Now wasn’t the time. “And I’m not the one you should be worried about. You’ve caused Liz enough emotional distress, don’t you think?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, she doesn’t want to be *near* you. Don’t you think that’s a problem? You’ve done nothing but cause her pain. When you took those wedding vows, Max, you promised a lot of things but you aren’t doing any of them.” I gave her to you, Maxwell, and you’re screwing this up, Michael thought angrily.
“Given the circumstances,” Max began.
Michael stood up and his eyes flashed in fury. “Given the circumstances that you got that blonde gerbil *pregnant* and that led up to a whole ton of events that have *us* running for the rest of our lives. Given the circumstances, that *you* created, Max, our lives are a living hell.”
“None of this is my fault, Michael,” Max ground out through clenched teeth.
“Look at Liz, Max. She’s practically dead inside. Tell me how that isn’t your fault.” It’s yours too, a small voice taunted in the back of Michael’s head.
“Why do you even care, Michael?”
“Because I--” Michael began and than stopped himself. Because I love her, he finished to himself. “Because I don’t think any of us deserve to live like this.”
“She’s my wife,” Max whined. “She knew what she was getting into.”
Liz suddenly stood up and glared at Max, “You’re my husband, Max. Why don’t you start acting like it?”
Max held up a hand to silence her, “I don’t need this right now.”
“No,” Liz protested. “You need a reality check. I’m your wife, not your slave. I don’t want a family right now, Max. And all you think about is a child for us. It’s all you talk about but do you ever ask about what I want? If you had even considered my opinion, here it is. I want a normal life, we all do but I can’t have that. I’m trying to make the best of it but you are determined to keep us trapped. Do you think that me being pregnant with our child is going to keep me with you? Well, it won’t. I don’t even want to *touch* you, let alone have your child.”
Max’s eyes flashed with shock and than anger. Glancing back and forth between Michael and Liz, he finally settled on Liz. He pointed a finger at her. “I’m going to go take a walk. I’ll meet you guys back at the hotel. Maybe than you can think clearly, Liz.”
He stalked off. Liz hated when Max did that--dismiss her feelings and blame them on a stressful day or something else. He wouldn’t even *consider* she was speaking the truth. Taking one last glance at Michael, Liz began to head towards the hotel.
******
Later that night, Max still hadn’t come back to the hotel. Liz was walking towards the ice machine in the hall when she heard shouting in Michael and Maria’s hotel room. Curious, Liz pressed her ear to the door and listened.
“Michael, what the hell was that back there?” Maria was shouting.
“I don’t know, Maria, you tell me. How can you sit back and not defend yourself and Liz against Max?”
“Max is our leader, Michael. He is doing what he thinks is right!”
“He’s doing what he can so everything can work out for him!”
“He’s been through a lot, Michael. With Isabel and Kyle gone..”
“And you think that the rest of us don’t care about Isabel dying, Maria? Kyle did the right thing to leave. I wish I had gone with him.”
“You know what, Michael? I’m going to look for Max who has been gone for hours. Apparently, I’m the only one who cares!”
Liz was startled when the door suddenly opened revealing a very pissed Maria. Maria, ignoring her presence, brushed past her and walked briskly down the hallway. Liz tore her gaze away from her and found herself staring into the eyes of Michael.
“Hey,” he said softly. “What are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?” Liz asked tentatively.
Michael nodded and Liz entered the room and sat on a chair. “I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me back there. It meant a lot to me.”
Michael looked at his feet and asked what had been on his mind since the argument, “Did you mean what you said about Max wanting a family?”
“Yeah. But it seems to be one sided.”
Michael knowingly nodded, “He just wants to keep you. Even Maria and I can see you detaching yourself from him.”
Liz brought her eyes to meet his, “I was never attached to him to begin with. You know that. Maybe I’m just getting sick of lying to myself.”
“We’ve gotten good at it,” Michael said grimly.
“Too good. I don’t even want to be his *wife*, Michael. You know that I don’t love him. And sometimes you get to a point when you realize that you can’t keep lying to yourself.” Liz shook her head and tried to blink away the tears that were building in her eyes--the pain that was building in her heart. “He can’t be *you*. I‘ve tried to pretend but he isn‘t *you* and he never will be,” she choked out.
Michael’s heart broke. “No one could ever be you either, Liz. But we’ve tried..”
“We should have tried harder,” Liz said, her eyes flashing with emotion. “What we have is worth fighting for. I give up, Michael. I want to divorce Max. As much as I want to be with you, if you can’t do that than that’s OK. But I can’t stay with him anymore.”
Michael couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Liz, you aren’t making any sense.”
Liz stood up and didn’t even bother to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down her face. Michael hated it whenever Liz cried. He wanted to reach out and wipe them away but he couldn’t make himself move. This was all too good to be true. “Michael, the only thing that has ever made sense to me is you and *us* being together. I miss you and I know you miss me too. Why are you so against this? Don’t you want us to be together again?”
Michael went over to her and stood in front of her. “Yes. But I can’t think about it or it hurts too much, Liz. I hate to see you unhappy with Max and if it were up to me, you weren’t be his wife. You’d be *mine*. I want you to divorce Max and that way we can be together but it’s more complicated than that now.”
“Why not, Michael?”
“Because what if tomorrow, Liz, this doesn’t fall through. I can’t *lose* you again, Liz. I couldn’t take that. It kills that you are with Max instead of me. Trust me on that. But if this sets up for another heart ache than I don’t want to do it.” Michael slumped on the bed, his vulnerability evident in his tight voice.
Liz sat down next to him and intertwined her fingers with his. They both smiled at the contact. “Michael, you’re right. I don’t want to hurt you. So what do you want me to do? Stay with Max?”
“We’ll figure something out,” Michael said, staring at their hands. It was so perfect--them together.
“So you never told me that Kyle asked you to leave with him,” Liz mused. When Michael didn’t answer, Liz pressed harder, “You should have gone with him.”
“That wasn’t an option.”
“Why not? This place is a hellhole. If anyone deserves out of this, it’s you.”
Michael shook his head, “No. It’s you. You see, Liz. I don’t have a home. Roswell isn’t my home--sometimes, it felt like I didn’t belong and Antar is just this *place* from a fairy tale. I know it’s there but I can’t be there. See, the thing is, you’re my home. Even out here, even when all I see is endless pavement, I look at you and I see *home*. I couldn’t leave that.”
Liz’s eyes filled with tears. “I know what you mean.”
Silence ensued until, Liz turned hopeful eyes to Michael, “Can we just have one night, Michael?”
“What do you mean?”
“Max isn’t coming back until tomorrow morning, Michael. And Maria will probably take all night to find him. And no, I’m not absolutely sure. Let’s take a chance. We deserve one night to be with each other. To finally be *home*. If they find us than it’s meant to be that way. If not…”
Liz was silenced by Michael’s insistent lips claiming her own.
~Three hours later~
Roll over baby
The time has come
To make a little bit more room
I've hung around you
It's getting tough
I think I'm gonna break down soon
Well, I remember
Crying in the park
It was getting dark
Suddenly I looked up
You were my sky
Liz laid her head on Michael’s naked chest and sighed deeply, enjoying the moment. Michael’s large hand was caressing her bare back absently and they both were practically glowing in the aftermath of making love. Liz and Michael felt home for the first time in years. Liz smiled lazily and said, “I forgot how amazing that felt.”
Michael nodded, “I forgot how amazing *you* felt.”
Liz snuggled as close as she could get. If it were up to her, she’d crawl inside of this skin. “I don’t care anymore.”
Michael rolled over, causing the sheets to collect around his waist, and faced her. “About what?”
“If they find us. It’s like when I’m with you, I don’t care.”
Michael smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I know what you mean. I wish this moment would never end but I know that it has too.”
Liz placed a finger on Michael’s lips and cooed, “Shh. Not now, OK?”
Michael nodded and said, “You’re going to leave when I fall asleep aren’t you?”
Liz blinked back tears and managed to say, “Yes. I couldn’t leave if you were awake and looking at me. God, I hate leaving you.”
Holding her tightly, Michael soothingly whispered, “Than I won’t fall asleep.”
They both cried until Michael fell asleep. His arms were wrapped tightly around her and his face had tear tracks on it. Liz felt as if her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. She watched fascinated as one of her tears dropped on Michael’s arm. Liz began to disentangle herself out of his arms and proceeded to put her clothes on, never once taking her eyes away from her love.
She was at the door when Michael moved and his eyes began to open. Liz said softly through her tears, “Close your eyes, Michael.”
Michael closed his eyes really tight and Liz saw a stray tear streak his face. Liz took one last look and closed the door.
So go on
And sleep darlin'
Why don't you pretend we were just a dream?
It's cool baby
It doesn't matter anyway
Well, I'm so sorry
Got to the station a little too late
Such a shame
We just missed the train
Just missed the train
---Just Missed the Train by Kelly Clarkson
~~~~Present Day~~~~
The bright orange-red flames angrily rose from the Motel 6. Michael used his powers to catch Maria and Max’s hotel rooms on fire. Using his powers to control them from getting into other rooms, he watched as Max ran out of in his room. As he was about to open Maria’s door to help her, Maria ran out and screamed, “Where’s Michael?”
Max’s head whipped around frantically, “Oh my god! Liz! Liz! Maria, I can’t find her!”
Maria gripped Max’s arm and pulled him towards her room. Michael braced himself and used his powers to make the fire worse and fire shot out of his hotel room. “No!” came Maria’s cry. Seconds later, Max and Liz’s hotel room suffered the same fate. Max used his powers to distinguish the fire in the room and ran inside. “Liz!” Michael heard him shout.
Liz came up to Michael’s side and held his hand. She looked up at him and smiled weakly, “When I was little, my parents would tell this story. There was this bird called the Phoenix and it would live for a certain amount of years and than it would die. It was a fire bird and it would go up in flames.”
Glancing at her, Michael asked, “That’s depressing.”
Michael and Liz’s attention was drawn back to the hotel when Max came out of his charred hotel room. He slumped down on against the wall and covered his face with his hands. Maria was pounding him with questions. Liz and Michael knew that he found Liz’s wedding ring in the bathroom. It would look like she got trapped in the bathroom and died there.
Michael ripped his eyes away from his once best friend and listened to Liz. “But than the Phoenix, he would be born again from his own ashes.”
“So this is what it feels like to watch yourself die,” Michael said.
“No. This is what it feels like to be given life.”
They shared a look and watched as Max and Maria held each other in comfort for their lost friends. Michael held Liz’s hand up his mouth and kissed her now ring-less finger. “Let’s go.”
Liz nodded. Twenty minutes later, paramedics arrived to see if anyone was injured in the small hotel fire. Two casualties were reported.
Those same two causalities drove past the hotel and onto their new lives. As partners, as lovers, as two people living the life they should have lead a long time ago.
They didn’t look back at the hotel nor at their friends. They only drove faster away from their past and towards their future together.
***OK, now I have a wacky idea! As if it’s not that I’m totally behind on Defying Destiny (but I’ll still to get a chapter out soon), I’m thinking of doing a prequel. Y’know, Michael and Liz’s life before Picture. Tell me if it’s a good idea! Love Always
Title: To Live Again
Rating: MATURE
Summary: Sequel to Picture (http://pub122.ezboard.com/fpolarattract ... =261.topic)
Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell! Trust me if I did, Michael and Liz would have been together.
Feedback: Please! I don’t know how far I plan on going with this so I’ll need it.
“How long have you known?” Michael Guerin asked his girlfriend, Liz Parker as they watched the stars. Liz had her head rested on Michael’s shoulder. They sat outside their respective hotel rooms. It was a bit chilly but they kept each other warm.
Liz sighed and placed her hand on Michael‘s, “A month. I wanted to tell you.”
Michael held her closer. When Liz had told him she was pregnant shortly after their long-awaited reunion, he was shocked. He wasn’t angry but a bit concerned about what this meant for her. She was carrying an alien baby after all. And most importantly, he was happy that a piece of him was living inside of her. He was going to be a *father*.
Rubbing his eyes with his hand, he smiled widely. “This is amazing, Liz.”
Liz smiled, sharing in his euphoria. He placed her hands on her small stomach. “It’s kind of strange to think that there is a little person living in there,” Liz said blissfully.
“*My* little person,” he said in awe. Looking her straight in the eye, he barely whispered, “*Our* little person.”
“I was scared first about how you would react,” Liz confessed.
Michael leaned his head back against the wall and looked up into the sky. “It feels like everything in my life has led up to this moment.”
Liz’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“It’s just that, sure, we’ve had our share of pain. More than a lot of people should go through. But, Liz, right now, I’m sitting with the mother of my child looking at the stars…”
Liz sighed deeply and a frown crossed her face, “Outside of my husband’s hotel room.”
Michael mood noticeably dampened, “About Max, Liz.”
Liz turned to face him, “I’m not going back. I know I’ve said that before but I can’t. I’m carrying our child and Max would think it was his and I can pretend to be his wife, Michael. But I’m not going to let him pretend to be a father.”
“I would be able to let you,” Michael replied seriously. “So what do you want to do? Get a divorce?”
“There is only one copy of our marriage certificate. It was a safety precaution really. I burned it the night I found out I was pregnant. So technically, our marriage never happened.”
“There are witnesses, Liz. People lose certificates everyday. There are ways around that.”
“I know. That’s why we need another idea,” Liz said while deep in thought.
As they thought of an idea, Michael couldn’t help but think about the day that his child was conceived.
~~Two Months Earlier~~
Michael Guerin absently picked at his hamburger and tried to ignore Maria’s insistent rambling. The four of them had finally found a place to settle down temporary but after two weeks on the road, anything seemed better than seeing endless road every day.
Glancing at Liz, Michael frowned at her tired expression. She had probably worked the late shift at Mac’s the local bar. Michael had almost gotten used to the lost expression in her eyes. They were full of defeat and it killed him to see her that way because he knew how she looked when she was truly happy.
But no one could possibly be happy living the life they were living. Maria punched Michael on the arm, violently breaking him out of his reverie. “Did you hear me, Michael?”
Michael looked at her, his lack of interest evident, and sighed heavily. “No, Maria. What was it?”
“Well there is this talent thing at Mac’s in a week and Mac knows some guy--this record guy--who wants to come out and see me. This could be my big break,” Maria said enthusiastically.
Max shook his head, “Maria, you know you can’t do that.”
“Why not? I’m better than working in a bar full of drunken middle-aged men, Max.”
Max pinned her with a cold glare. “We’ll draw attention to ourselves. You know we can’t do that.”
Maria rolled her eyes, “And prancing around in our little bar uniforms, isn’t?”
Liz turned to Max, “She’s right. I’m sick and tired of being a waitress when I know it’s not the best I can do, Max. There are these online college courses I was looking into..”
Slamming a hand down on the table, Max roared, “No. Did you guys plan this or something?”
“No, Max. I want to take these courses and Maria wants to be in the music business. Nothing has happened in a *year*, I think we can take a chance,” Liz argued. A flicker of hope danced in her eyes. But like Max always did, he diminished the hope in Liz’s eyes. In her life.
Liz stood up and angrily shouted, “Max, you always do this! You don’t let me write to my parents. You refuse to let me take college night classes. What are you trying to do, Max, protect us or try to kill any possibly we have of leading a normal life?”
“She’s right, Maxwell,” Michael said. Liz looked at him quickly and than averted her eyes. Max gapped at him in shock. “You can’t control them.”
“This has nothing to do with you, Michael,” Max growled.
Michael clenched his fists. “Oh. I think it does. You can’t treat them like this.”
“What do you know, Michael? You can’t even keep Maria with you for more than a day without pissing her off!”
“Maria isn’t my *wife*, Maxwell,” Michael ground out. Liz gave him a grateful small smile. Michael turned his attention back to Max. But Liz should be mine, he inwardly thought but quickly ignored it. Now wasn’t the time. “And I’m not the one you should be worried about. You’ve caused Liz enough emotional distress, don’t you think?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, she doesn’t want to be *near* you. Don’t you think that’s a problem? You’ve done nothing but cause her pain. When you took those wedding vows, Max, you promised a lot of things but you aren’t doing any of them.” I gave her to you, Maxwell, and you’re screwing this up, Michael thought angrily.
“Given the circumstances,” Max began.
Michael stood up and his eyes flashed in fury. “Given the circumstances that you got that blonde gerbil *pregnant* and that led up to a whole ton of events that have *us* running for the rest of our lives. Given the circumstances, that *you* created, Max, our lives are a living hell.”
“None of this is my fault, Michael,” Max ground out through clenched teeth.
“Look at Liz, Max. She’s practically dead inside. Tell me how that isn’t your fault.” It’s yours too, a small voice taunted in the back of Michael’s head.
“Why do you even care, Michael?”
“Because I--” Michael began and than stopped himself. Because I love her, he finished to himself. “Because I don’t think any of us deserve to live like this.”
“She’s my wife,” Max whined. “She knew what she was getting into.”
Liz suddenly stood up and glared at Max, “You’re my husband, Max. Why don’t you start acting like it?”
Max held up a hand to silence her, “I don’t need this right now.”
“No,” Liz protested. “You need a reality check. I’m your wife, not your slave. I don’t want a family right now, Max. And all you think about is a child for us. It’s all you talk about but do you ever ask about what I want? If you had even considered my opinion, here it is. I want a normal life, we all do but I can’t have that. I’m trying to make the best of it but you are determined to keep us trapped. Do you think that me being pregnant with our child is going to keep me with you? Well, it won’t. I don’t even want to *touch* you, let alone have your child.”
Max’s eyes flashed with shock and than anger. Glancing back and forth between Michael and Liz, he finally settled on Liz. He pointed a finger at her. “I’m going to go take a walk. I’ll meet you guys back at the hotel. Maybe than you can think clearly, Liz.”
He stalked off. Liz hated when Max did that--dismiss her feelings and blame them on a stressful day or something else. He wouldn’t even *consider* she was speaking the truth. Taking one last glance at Michael, Liz began to head towards the hotel.
******
Later that night, Max still hadn’t come back to the hotel. Liz was walking towards the ice machine in the hall when she heard shouting in Michael and Maria’s hotel room. Curious, Liz pressed her ear to the door and listened.
“Michael, what the hell was that back there?” Maria was shouting.
“I don’t know, Maria, you tell me. How can you sit back and not defend yourself and Liz against Max?”
“Max is our leader, Michael. He is doing what he thinks is right!”
“He’s doing what he can so everything can work out for him!”
“He’s been through a lot, Michael. With Isabel and Kyle gone..”
“And you think that the rest of us don’t care about Isabel dying, Maria? Kyle did the right thing to leave. I wish I had gone with him.”
“You know what, Michael? I’m going to look for Max who has been gone for hours. Apparently, I’m the only one who cares!”
Liz was startled when the door suddenly opened revealing a very pissed Maria. Maria, ignoring her presence, brushed past her and walked briskly down the hallway. Liz tore her gaze away from her and found herself staring into the eyes of Michael.
“Hey,” he said softly. “What are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?” Liz asked tentatively.
Michael nodded and Liz entered the room and sat on a chair. “I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me back there. It meant a lot to me.”
Michael looked at his feet and asked what had been on his mind since the argument, “Did you mean what you said about Max wanting a family?”
“Yeah. But it seems to be one sided.”
Michael knowingly nodded, “He just wants to keep you. Even Maria and I can see you detaching yourself from him.”
Liz brought her eyes to meet his, “I was never attached to him to begin with. You know that. Maybe I’m just getting sick of lying to myself.”
“We’ve gotten good at it,” Michael said grimly.
“Too good. I don’t even want to be his *wife*, Michael. You know that I don’t love him. And sometimes you get to a point when you realize that you can’t keep lying to yourself.” Liz shook her head and tried to blink away the tears that were building in her eyes--the pain that was building in her heart. “He can’t be *you*. I‘ve tried to pretend but he isn‘t *you* and he never will be,” she choked out.
Michael’s heart broke. “No one could ever be you either, Liz. But we’ve tried..”
“We should have tried harder,” Liz said, her eyes flashing with emotion. “What we have is worth fighting for. I give up, Michael. I want to divorce Max. As much as I want to be with you, if you can’t do that than that’s OK. But I can’t stay with him anymore.”
Michael couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Liz, you aren’t making any sense.”
Liz stood up and didn’t even bother to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down her face. Michael hated it whenever Liz cried. He wanted to reach out and wipe them away but he couldn’t make himself move. This was all too good to be true. “Michael, the only thing that has ever made sense to me is you and *us* being together. I miss you and I know you miss me too. Why are you so against this? Don’t you want us to be together again?”
Michael went over to her and stood in front of her. “Yes. But I can’t think about it or it hurts too much, Liz. I hate to see you unhappy with Max and if it were up to me, you weren’t be his wife. You’d be *mine*. I want you to divorce Max and that way we can be together but it’s more complicated than that now.”
“Why not, Michael?”
“Because what if tomorrow, Liz, this doesn’t fall through. I can’t *lose* you again, Liz. I couldn’t take that. It kills that you are with Max instead of me. Trust me on that. But if this sets up for another heart ache than I don’t want to do it.” Michael slumped on the bed, his vulnerability evident in his tight voice.
Liz sat down next to him and intertwined her fingers with his. They both smiled at the contact. “Michael, you’re right. I don’t want to hurt you. So what do you want me to do? Stay with Max?”
“We’ll figure something out,” Michael said, staring at their hands. It was so perfect--them together.
“So you never told me that Kyle asked you to leave with him,” Liz mused. When Michael didn’t answer, Liz pressed harder, “You should have gone with him.”
“That wasn’t an option.”
“Why not? This place is a hellhole. If anyone deserves out of this, it’s you.”
Michael shook his head, “No. It’s you. You see, Liz. I don’t have a home. Roswell isn’t my home--sometimes, it felt like I didn’t belong and Antar is just this *place* from a fairy tale. I know it’s there but I can’t be there. See, the thing is, you’re my home. Even out here, even when all I see is endless pavement, I look at you and I see *home*. I couldn’t leave that.”
Liz’s eyes filled with tears. “I know what you mean.”
Silence ensued until, Liz turned hopeful eyes to Michael, “Can we just have one night, Michael?”
“What do you mean?”
“Max isn’t coming back until tomorrow morning, Michael. And Maria will probably take all night to find him. And no, I’m not absolutely sure. Let’s take a chance. We deserve one night to be with each other. To finally be *home*. If they find us than it’s meant to be that way. If not…”
Liz was silenced by Michael’s insistent lips claiming her own.
~Three hours later~
Roll over baby
The time has come
To make a little bit more room
I've hung around you
It's getting tough
I think I'm gonna break down soon
Well, I remember
Crying in the park
It was getting dark
Suddenly I looked up
You were my sky
Liz laid her head on Michael’s naked chest and sighed deeply, enjoying the moment. Michael’s large hand was caressing her bare back absently and they both were practically glowing in the aftermath of making love. Liz and Michael felt home for the first time in years. Liz smiled lazily and said, “I forgot how amazing that felt.”
Michael nodded, “I forgot how amazing *you* felt.”
Liz snuggled as close as she could get. If it were up to her, she’d crawl inside of this skin. “I don’t care anymore.”
Michael rolled over, causing the sheets to collect around his waist, and faced her. “About what?”
“If they find us. It’s like when I’m with you, I don’t care.”
Michael smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I know what you mean. I wish this moment would never end but I know that it has too.”
Liz placed a finger on Michael’s lips and cooed, “Shh. Not now, OK?”
Michael nodded and said, “You’re going to leave when I fall asleep aren’t you?”
Liz blinked back tears and managed to say, “Yes. I couldn’t leave if you were awake and looking at me. God, I hate leaving you.”
Holding her tightly, Michael soothingly whispered, “Than I won’t fall asleep.”
They both cried until Michael fell asleep. His arms were wrapped tightly around her and his face had tear tracks on it. Liz felt as if her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. She watched fascinated as one of her tears dropped on Michael’s arm. Liz began to disentangle herself out of his arms and proceeded to put her clothes on, never once taking her eyes away from her love.
She was at the door when Michael moved and his eyes began to open. Liz said softly through her tears, “Close your eyes, Michael.”
Michael closed his eyes really tight and Liz saw a stray tear streak his face. Liz took one last look and closed the door.
So go on
And sleep darlin'
Why don't you pretend we were just a dream?
It's cool baby
It doesn't matter anyway
Well, I'm so sorry
Got to the station a little too late
Such a shame
We just missed the train
Just missed the train
---Just Missed the Train by Kelly Clarkson
~~~~Present Day~~~~
The bright orange-red flames angrily rose from the Motel 6. Michael used his powers to catch Maria and Max’s hotel rooms on fire. Using his powers to control them from getting into other rooms, he watched as Max ran out of in his room. As he was about to open Maria’s door to help her, Maria ran out and screamed, “Where’s Michael?”
Max’s head whipped around frantically, “Oh my god! Liz! Liz! Maria, I can’t find her!”
Maria gripped Max’s arm and pulled him towards her room. Michael braced himself and used his powers to make the fire worse and fire shot out of his hotel room. “No!” came Maria’s cry. Seconds later, Max and Liz’s hotel room suffered the same fate. Max used his powers to distinguish the fire in the room and ran inside. “Liz!” Michael heard him shout.
Liz came up to Michael’s side and held his hand. She looked up at him and smiled weakly, “When I was little, my parents would tell this story. There was this bird called the Phoenix and it would live for a certain amount of years and than it would die. It was a fire bird and it would go up in flames.”
Glancing at her, Michael asked, “That’s depressing.”
Michael and Liz’s attention was drawn back to the hotel when Max came out of his charred hotel room. He slumped down on against the wall and covered his face with his hands. Maria was pounding him with questions. Liz and Michael knew that he found Liz’s wedding ring in the bathroom. It would look like she got trapped in the bathroom and died there.
Michael ripped his eyes away from his once best friend and listened to Liz. “But than the Phoenix, he would be born again from his own ashes.”
“So this is what it feels like to watch yourself die,” Michael said.
“No. This is what it feels like to be given life.”
They shared a look and watched as Max and Maria held each other in comfort for their lost friends. Michael held Liz’s hand up his mouth and kissed her now ring-less finger. “Let’s go.”
Liz nodded. Twenty minutes later, paramedics arrived to see if anyone was injured in the small hotel fire. Two casualties were reported.
Those same two causalities drove past the hotel and onto their new lives. As partners, as lovers, as two people living the life they should have lead a long time ago.
They didn’t look back at the hotel nor at their friends. They only drove faster away from their past and towards their future together.
***OK, now I have a wacky idea! As if it’s not that I’m totally behind on Defying Destiny (but I’ll still to get a chapter out soon), I’m thinking of doing a prequel. Y’know, Michael and Liz’s life before Picture. Tell me if it’s a good idea! Love Always