Roswell Fanatics

Till we meet again


Lead Portrayal of Michael Guerin-Round 9
Best Candy Fic-Round 9

Lead Portrayal of Michael Guerin- round 10
Lead Portrayal of Maria Deluca- Round 10
Lead Portrayal of Kyle

RATING:MATURE at times so I guess I'll just make that the rating all the time.lol

Disclaimer: Roswell belongs to 20th century Fox and Jason Katims. I am just borrowing the characters because they went and cancelled it on me.



Summary: The pod squad took off in the granolith during departure even though Michael decided he wanted to stay for Maria he couldn’t get out. Alex is alive and Tess did not mind warp him. They leave because they believe that the baby can’t survive on earth.

Some of the dialogue is from the episode departure.
Prologue

Michael watched as the time clock for the Granolith ticked down. He couldn’t believe that this was happening. He had finally come to realize that everything he wanted, everything he needed was right here on earth and now he had to leave. He had to leave her.

He remembered the way that they had made love. It was amazing and not just the sexual part of it but the whole experience. It was as if their souls had joined and now here he was getting ready to leave her. And then he knew. Deep down he always had known. He needed to stay. He needed Maria.

“I can’t do this.” He said suddenly.

The three others turned to look at him.

“What do you mean?” Isabel said tears in her eyes.

Michael ran his hands through his hair. He knew that this would hurt her but he had to do it. He looked at her his face a mask of apology.

Then he turned to look at Max.

“She’s my home.”

Max smiled. He knew that feeling. He knew it because it is what he felt for Liz and if there was anyway he could stay he would but he had made a huge mistake and now he had to deal with the consequences. He had been so stupid. He should have known that Liz would never betray him but he didn’t trust what he felt and he had turned to Tess in a moment of weakness. He was glad that Michael was following his heart.

“I know.” Max said breaking the silence that had engulfed them.

He turned to his sister.

“I would understand.” He said.

“No.” Isabel said shaking her head.

“I meant what I said. I’m going with you.”

Tess watched the scene unfold before them. Inside she was screaming.

‘I want to stay.’ Kept running through her mind.

She had found her family when she had come to Roswell only it wasn’t where she expected it to be. She had found it with Kyle and his father.

She had finally gotten everything she thought she always wanted and she had never been so unhappy in her life.

The color of the countdown clock changed to a pale blue as the final minute began to tick away.

“You better go.” Max said.

Michael was not one to let his emotions show but in that moment he didn’t care. Quickly he hugged Max and Isabel and hesitantly he hugged Tess. Then he ran for the door.

“Michael!” Max yelled.

“Watch over them.” He said his eyes pleading.

“With my life.” Michael said.

He turned and placed his hand on the rock wall. Nothing happened.

He tried again and still nothing.

Isabel, Max and Tess saw that he was still there and called to him. “Michael!”

“I can’t get out. I cant get out!”

He yelled banging his palm against the rock wall until it bled.

By this point Max Isabel and Tess had each tried to open the door with no luck.

“What the hell is going on here?” Michael yelled.

“Where trapped.” Isabel said panic evident in her voice.

Before any of them could say anything a large burst of light engulfed them and they found themselves in the cone portion of the granolith.

“Max what’s happening?” Isabel said grabbing her brothers hand.

“It’s taking us back.” He said. “It’s out of our control.”

The granolith began to hum and spin and shake. They were engulfed by a pure white light.

The last sound heard in the chamber was Michael’s screaming her name. “Maria!”

*******************************************************************
Crashdown Same day

Maria, Liz, Alex and Kyle sat in the last booth in the Crashdown.

“I can’t believe that this is happening.” Maria said.

Michael had finally opened up to her. They had shared something so beautiful and he was leaving. She should have known that it was to good to be true.

Liz grabbed her hand and squeezed. She was in as much pain as Maria. Max had told her before he left that he loved her. If he loved her how could he do this to her? How could he make her hurt so badly? She had to focus on the anger right now because if she didn’t she would have to focus on the pain the betrayal and that just hurt to much.

“You would have thought that the stupid morons that created them would have made it so that any child of theirs would be able to survive on earth. It just doesn’t make sense.” Alex said as he fingered the key chain Isabel had given him before they left. Isabel had finally accepted her feelings for him and now she was being ripped away. It just wasn’t fair.

“Yeah well if Max had just kept it in his pants we could have avoided the whole damn thing.” He said the resentment evident in his voice.

Max had taken Liz and now even worse he had taken Tess. He had been having strong feelings for Tess for a while and she for him and then suddenly they were gone. Just vague images until a few days ago when abruptly they had returned and with those feelings had come something else it was a vague feeling that he couldn’t grasp and the fact that he couldn’t understand it made him even angrier. There was only one person that he had to place that anger on and that was Max.

“Kyle..” Maria began not wanting Liz to get upset.

“What? You know it as well as I do. Michael would still be here if Max could have kept his pecker in his pants.”

Maria gave him a stern look.

“He’s right. The least they both could have done is be responsible.” Liz said adding Tess into the blame game.

“Yeah well it’s over. We’ll probably never see them again and I’ll never love any woman
The way I loved Isabel.” Alex said as he gripped the keychain tightly in his hands.

Suddenly the tables began to shake and a few glasses fell to the floor shattering. Then just as suddenly as it happened it stopped.

“Their gone.” Maria whispered. Somewhere deep down inside she knew that Michael had left the planet. She began to cry softly.

Liz placed her arm around her trying to keep her own composure.

Two men came running in.

“Did you see that flash in the sky when the earth quake happened?” One guy yelled.

“Yeah it looked like dry lightening.” The other man said.

“That there wasn’t no dry lighting that was a spaceship.” The first guy yelled.

“You been in this town way to long. That was dry lightening.”

The two men continued to argue. Kyle stood up abruptly. Something deep within him ached. She was gone and the emptiness was more then he could take.

“I want to get the hell out of here. I never asked for this. I want to go back to normal.” He growled in a low whisper and then stormed out.

“Let him go. He needs his time alone.” Alex said when Liz got up to go after him.

The three friends sat there silently for the rest of the afternoon. To a passerby they looked like three normal American teens ready to set off to college but they knew things would never be “normal for them again.”[[/b]

Thanks for the feed back. Tess is not evil in this fic and you will find out what happened with Max, Tess and the baby in the coming parts.

Part 1


Five and a half years later.

Maria ran around her large home putting the final finishing touches on her home for Christmas. It was Christmas Eve and tomorrow her friends and family would arrive for Christmas brunch and hen dinner. It had become somewhat of a tradition. They each took a turn having the special day. This was Maria’s first year and she wanted everything to be perfect.

As she busied her self with her chores she contemplated the last five Years. Maria still couldn’t believe that it had been five years had passed since that terrible day. The four of them had been each others crutch. When one of them was down another would be there to pick that person up. There was an even stronger bond between them now and with the help of the group they had each attempted to move on, attempting being the key word..

She had done ok for herself establishing a solid career as a song writer and sometime vocalist. She had thought she wanted to be a star but found that she could express herself more in her song lyrics. That had been a smart move and her song writing had taken off.

She had recently bought a large spacious ranch on the outskirts of Roswell. She had always thought she would leave the first chance she got and she had., trying to run from her memories. What she found out was that the memories would always be with her and the place she wanted to be was home and that home was Roswell.

The others had done well for themselves also. Liz had thrown herself into her school work and had gotten her bachelors degree in 2 1/2 years. No one believed that it could be done but she took extra classes and went to school through summer and winter break. It helped that she seemed to have developed the alien power of retaining everything that you read. She was currently doing her residency at Roswell General Hospital.

Alex had also done well for himself. He began to focus more on computer networking and had developed a new computer security system that was virtually impenetrable. His company Belle Computers was based out of Las Cruces and he had recently gotten a very lucrative government contract. He would be supplying all the programming and security for the Department of Homeland Security. He owned a home a few miles from Maria’s but when he was in town he spent most of his time at her place. He had told her once that he came to her because his place was to empty and lonely. It reminded him too much of what he was missing.

Kyle had also benefited from his healing. His new abilities had manifested themselves physically. He had increased strength and the ability to run very quickly. When he had gone to college he had joined the baseball team and had thrown his all into it and it had paid off. A scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks had taken an interest in him and by the end of his freshmen year he was signed to a minor league contract. Less then a year later they had brought him up to the majors and he was now there star second baseman.

She shook her head. When people found out that Kyle Valenti was her stepbrother there was usually the initial shock and then from the women they always inquired about his marital status. That was easy enough all of them were still single.

Liz had dated here and there but it never developed into anything serious. Liz had told her that her heart just wasn’t ready. Maria knew that she still loved Max even if she claimed to hate him and that she didn’t want to open herself up to hurt again. She had a sneaky suspicion she might be rethinking her decision. In the past few weeks she had been mentioning a close friend of hers at the hospital a lot more often. Ryan had been after her to go out with him since they first met in college. He had even gone so far as to go to the same medical school and do his residency at the same hospital.

Liz had out right refused his advances at first but now she might just be rethinking that decision. As she told Maria a few nights ago “I don’t want to be alone forever.”

Alex had very little time to date because of his job and that suited him just fine. Where Liz was starting to realize she might not want to be alone for the rest of her life Alex was just the opposite. In his heart he knew that there would never be anyone who could replace Isabel.

As for Kyle he played the field as he liked to call it. The baseball world came with a lot of groupies he always said why not take advantage. He also liked to point out that loved had never been kind to him. His team mates called it the Valenti girl of the month club. Maria knew what he was trying to do, make the hurt go away by having meaningless relationships. She also knew it didn’t work. Deep down Kyle still loved Tess.

Maria’s contemplation was interrupted by the sound of her mother’s voice from the Kitchen. Amy had married Jim about six months after the pod squad left. It was one of the few happy times in those first few years. Maria couldn’t remember her mother ever being happier. That happiness apparently led to another little surprise. Nine months later Luke James Valenti came along.

“Maria. Where are the cranberries and Yams?” She asked as she wiped her hands on a dish towel.

Jim, Kyle and Luke were off doing their Male bonding, as Kyle called it and Amy had come to escape it and get some female bonding in.

“They aren’t in the pantry?”

Amy shook her head.

“No and you know we need them. Everyone loves those two side dishes.”

“Alright I guess I’m going to the grocery store.”

“Maria it is after 9. Where are you going to go?”

“The A&P in Roswell is open 24 hours during the holidays this year. Apparently there was an incident last year with people lining up outside the store demanding to get in for last minute items.”

“The holiday spirit at its best. Alright be careful.”

“I shouldn’t be long. I‘m going to take your car instead of the truck.” She said as she grabbed her coat.

Amy nodded and headed back for the Kitchen.

****************************(***************************************

Maria’s cell phone rang a few minutes after she got into the car.

“Hey Chica.” She said answering the phone.

“Hey, Maria.” Liz responded

“Are you in the Car?”

“Yeah I have to go and get cranberries and yams.”

“You have to have those.” She laughed.

“God only knows what will happen if Kyle doesn’t get his yams.” Maria added and they both laughed.

“Have you spoken to Alex?” Liz asked.

“We saw him yesterday.”

“He went to the pageant again didn’t he?”

“Yeah and he seemed upset when he left.”

“Why does he do that to himself?” Liz said with a sigh.

“He says it’s the one real reminder of the last good Christmas he had.”

Alex had helped Isabel organize and run the pageant the Christmas before she left and it was when they first started to reconnect.

“It’s never going to end they are going to continue to ruin our lives even when they are in another galaxy. Damn them.” Liz said the anger evident in her voice.

“I guess but I would never give up the time I had with Michael.”

“Why do we always do this? Inevitable our conversations always come back to them. My new year’s resolution is to not talk or think about Max. I’m moving on.”

Maria raised her eyebrow at that. Maybe Liz was thinking about moving on.

“I bet within the first hour you break that resolution.” Maria said with a laugh.

“Let’s talk about better things. How is my…” Liz began to say when she heard the sound of Maria’s horn and some cursing.

“Maria are you ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Some stupid asshole on a motorcycle just cut me off. They’ll let anyone ride those things.”

“I’m here.” She said as she pulled into the parking lot.

“I’ll call you when I get home later.”

“I’m on till 2 AM so feel free to call me at any time. I’ll be here wide awake.”

“Oh the life of doctor and it seems so glamorous on TV.”

They both laughed and then said there goodbyes.

Maria looked at her watch 9:30.

‘I need to get in and out as quick as possible. I still have so much I need to do.’ She thought to herself.

Little did she know fate had other plans in store for her that night.

Thanks for all the great feedback. This is on the CC board so rest assured that CC are what I mean but it doesn't mean it will be easy.

There are circumstances that led to the whole Max and Tess debacale and they will be explained. I was never a true Tess hater. In fact I didn't actually tru;y hate her character until I found out she killed Alex. So in this story she doesn't and I can reedem her.

So here is part 2. It's a bit short but it does move us forward.

Roswck

Part 2

Till we meet again.

Maria grabbed a grocery cart from the parking lot and headed for the store entrance.

It was surprisingly crowded for 9:30 on Christmas Eve.
As she neared the front entrance she saw 2 familiar figures and smiled.

Kyle and Luke did not see Maria until she was almost in front of them.

Maria saw Kyle grab something from Luke’s hand and vaguely heard him utter “Oh Shit.” before she got to them.

“Mawia.” Luke yelled and leaped into his sisters arms.

Maria tossled his dark brown hair.

“Hey buddy, what are you and Kyle doing here at this time of night. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? The faster you get to sleep the sooner Santa will come.”

“I know but Kyle said we could come get…”

“Carrots.” Kyle said before Luke could finish.

“A growing boy has got to have his carrots.” Kyle said flashing his killer Valenti smile.

Luke looked at him confused but didn’t say a word. He idolized his brother and if his brother said they were there for carrots they were there for carrots. He narrowed his blue eyes and put a smirk on his face that was so much like Kyle's she had to bite her lip to stop from laughing.

"Yeah Carrots."

“How were those carrots?” Maria asked with a smirk.

“Yummy.” Luke said rubbing his belly.

“I’ll bet, especially since they must have been chocolate covered carrots.”

She wet her thumb with her lips and wiped the chocolate that remained in the corner of his mouth away.

“Looks like were busted little buddy.”

“Sorry Kyle.” Luke said looking at his shoes.

“That’s ok. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He said bending down to be at Luke’s level.

Maria watched Kyle with Luke. He was so good with him. From birth Kyle had always taken care of Luke as if he was his own. She knew that one day he would make a wonderful father if only he could move past Tess.

“We were just having some manly time.” Kyle said as he beat his hands with his chest and Luke laughed.

“We ran out of cookies. We had to taste them so we know they would be good for Santa.” Luke said.

“It’s our duty. We can’t give him bad cookies. He might not bring us what we want.” Kyle said and winked at Luke.

“ I hope he likes these because I really want that new power ranger video.” Luke said rubbing his hands together.

Luke reached his hands up for Kyle to pick him up. He placed his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes.

“I’m tired.” He said rubbing his eyes.

“Well you better get home and get to bed then.” Maria said kissing him on the cheek.

“Where is your Dad?” She asked.

“He got called into the office.”

“Well you better get him home before my mother goes postal on you.”

“Yeah I know. I guess I was just being selfish. I didn’t want him to go to bed because then I would be alone.”

“And we all know being alone during the holidays just gives us more time to think about what we don’t have.” He added a look of melancholy crossing his face.

“Kyle.” Maria started.

“I keep saying I’m going to move on. Every year it’s my resolution. I have this great life. A life anyone would be thrilled to have but I just can’t get over it.”

“The holidays are a rough time for all of us.”

Luke began to snore and they both laughed.

“I’m going to get him home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She gave him and Luke a kiss on the cheek watched them get in the car and the headed into the store.

********************************************************************

She made quick movement up the aisles. She had gotten the cranberries and yams. She grabbed a package of marshmallows and some brown sugar. She looked at her list only one thing left, Tabasco sauce.

A lasting reminder of their alien friends. When Kyle and Liz had begun to develop their powers they also had developed a taste for spicy foods.

She located the item she needed and grabbed it.

“Finally!” She sighed.

Her cell phone began to ring and she began searching for it in her purse all the while still pushing the cart. Finally she had located the ringing device in her purse and as the ringing stopped so did her cart as it crashed into something or should she say someone.

She began to make her apology.

“I’m so sorry these damn cell phones…” She began but stopped dead when her eyes met with the person’s she was apologizing to.

Her head began to swim and her heart began to beat wildly in her chest. Her legs felt like jelly and the only thing keeping her from falling was the cart she was gripping for dear life. Because the eyes staring back at her were eyes she hadn’t seen in over five years. They were Michael’s eyes.

“Michael.” She whispered.

Beautiful 86- Thanks for the feedback. All of your questions will be answered.

frenchkiss70- Max and Tess Kyle and Liz are all victims of circumstance. They will have to deal with those circumstances now that the aliens are back on earth.

roswellluver- Thanks I always thought that Jim And Amy needed to get together and have a kid. hey both had to raise their kids alone. They were still young and this time they would have each other.

Buffsteraddict,FSUMSW94, begonia9508 - Glad you like the story. Here is the next part.

Ninlil- They all have a lot of emotions associated with the pos squad leaving. Kyle and Liz have the most problems with them because they feel betrayed. Maria and Alex have other issues that will come up. Maria was the most accepting but who knows how she'll react.

Earth2Mama-Some of your questions will be answered in this part.


Till We Meet Again

Part 3

Now that she was staring at him he knew that he had sensed her from the moment he had entered the store.

He had tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach, the feeling that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The feeling he knew was uniquely Maria. He had brushed it aside as wishful thinking but now the reality of it was staring him right in the face.

God she was even more beautiful then the last time he had seen her. Her hair was darker now but her eyes were still the most beautiful shade of green. She wore a v-neck sweater which dipped just low enough to see the cleavage of her breasts. The breasts he had longed to place his head between for so many years, to hear the sound of her heart beating and know she was ok.

He should have listened to Max. He never should have gone out tonight but they needed supplies and something was drawing him here. Now he knew it was her.

Maria stood in stunned silence after whispering his name. A thousand went thoughts whirling through her head. It was Michael he was here.

“When did you get back?” She managed to get out as she clung desperately to the cart.

“A few days ago.” He mumbled

‘A few days a go? He had been back a few days and she had run into him in the supermarket.’

“You’re kidding right?”

Michael shook his head and inwardly cringed when he saw the hurt on her face.

“Oh.” Was all she managed to get out.

She felt like a fool. She really believed that when he got back that he would come to her. That they would be… She stopped herself she couldn’t do this to herself. She wasn’t going to break down in front of him.

“And the others are they with you.” Again he shook his head to show that they were.

Max was going to kill him. They had agreed no contact, until they had time to sort things out.

“Did they take your tongue back there on Antar?” She whispered.

Michael didn’t miss the note of anger in her voice.

“I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Here where? The grocery store?” She asked waving her hands in the air.

“No with you. You weren’t supposed to see me. We made a deal not to make contact.”

Maria was starting to get angry. She had been an idiot, pining for him. Saving herself for him. Five years of wondering if he was dead or alive and they had made a deal not to contact them?

“Sure, it’s been five and a half years what’s another year or two, right?”

“Maria that’s not what…”

“You know what Michael, save it. I’ve got too much going on to deal with this right now. Fine, you came back and didn’t tell us. I can deal with that. I have had to deal with a lot worse these last 5 years.”

She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a loud sigh.

“I don’t know why I expected anything different. You took my innocence and then took off for another planet why should this be any different?” She said in a low angry whisper.

”Maria…” Michael said stunned.

Maria placed her hand up to stop him from continuing.

You must have had more important things to do than come see me. Well I have more important things to do then stand her in this aisle talking to you.”

She pulled her cart back and began to angle it around him.

“If you haven’t noticed, it’s Christmas for us earthlings and that may mean nothing to you but I’ve got a house full of people coming over tomorrow and I won’t let you ruin that.” She hissed.

With those being her last words she shot him one last glare and left the aisle.

Michael stood there stunned. He had imagined his reunion with Maria a thousand times and never did it end with him standing alone in aisle 14 of the A&P. This wouldn’t do he had to make this right.


Maria shoved the groceries angrily in the back of her mother’s trunk.

“Damn, him.” She said hitting the steering wheel.

How could he do this to her? She was the only one in the group that had never gotten angry. She knew that Michael loved her. At least she had thought he did. Now she wasn’t so sure.

How could he have been here all this time and not come for her. There was so much they needed to say to each other but what does she get a confrontation at the A&P.

“That’s just classic Michael.” She said shaking her head.

He hadn’t even come after her. He probably had to check with King Max before he did anything.

She rubbed her face to rid herself of the tears that had been falling since she got in the car.

“I won’t get pulled back in to the Abyss. I can’t. There is too much at stake. For one thing there is my sanity.” She said shaking her head.

“See, I’m already losing it, talking to myself in the car.”

She laughed and then she pulled the car out of its spot and headed towards home.

She never noticed the motorcycle that was slowly tailing her.

Part 4

Maria hit the alarm clock button to turn off the blaring noise. She groaned as she looked at the angry red numbers that read 6AM.

She hadn’t slept well to say the least.

When she had gotten home she had quickly ushered her mother out not wanting to have to tell her why she was so upset. She had decided there was no reason why she had to ruin everyone’s Christmas. They could deal with the return of their Alien friends on the 26th.

Everyone that is accept Liz. Liz would kill her if she kept this news from her. She had tried 3 times to reach her but kept getting her voice mail.

Quickly she grabbed the phone and dialed Liz’s cell.

“Hi! This is Liz. Leave a message and I’ll call you back. Bye!”

Maria slammed her phone down. She had already left 3 messages. She was probably out cold from her long shift at the hospital.

She walked over to the large window in her bedroom pulled back the curtains and opened the blinds. The burst of sunshine filled the room with light and Maria squinted her eyes until they adjusted.

She stood there in the early morning sunshine allowing it to warm her body. Suddenly she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She had the strange feeling she was being watched.

She opened the window and stuck her head out. She looked around but saw nothing. Pulling her head in she began shaking it.

“I have known they are back a full 24 hours and already it’s starting.” She groaned pulling the blinds closed.

She walked to her bathroom and turned the shower on. She slipped in and let the water beat down on her trying to clear her mind of all things, but she just couldn’t do it. Her mind kept coming back to him.

‘Damn him. How could he do this? How could he have come back and not come to me? How could he?’ The thoughts kept running through her mind.

Her emotions over took her and she slid to the floor. Tightly grasping her legs she allowed her emotions to get the better of her and began to cry. Sobs raked her body uncontrollably.

She knew she missed him. She had felt it everyday for the last four and a half years but she didn’t truly understand the extent of it till she saw him again.

She finally pulled herself together and got out of the shower. Wiping the steam away from the mirror she looked at herself. Her eyes were red and swollen and she was as pale as a ghost.

‘Never again.’ She thought to herself. ‘I’ll never cry over him again.’

With determination she walked into her room sat down at her vanity and took out her makeup. It was going to take a lot of it to make her look perfect today.
***************************************************************


Michael sat on his bike stoically watching for any sign of movement in the house.

He had followed Maria home. He needed to talk to her. After all these year he couldn’t let things end up like this. Too much had happened.

He had thought about going to her last night but knew that would be a mistake. She needed time to process the fact that he was back and deal with the fact that he hadn’t come to her immediately.

‘Damn it Max.’ He thought to himself. It had been Max’s idea to lay low for a while. There were things that they needed to figure out before they contacted their human friends.

Michael shook his head. It really wasn’t Max’s fault. Someone needed to make the decision and of course it had been but Michael needed some place to focus the anger that he had about not being able to go to Maria and that for now was Max.

As if he knew Michael was thinking about him Michael’s phone rang. He looked at the caller Id and swore.

“Damn.” He mumbled and flipped open the phone.

“What?” He said gruffly.

“Where are you?” Came the voice at the other end.

“Out.” Was his one word reply.

“I know your out but where? Isabel and Tess have been worried sick.”

Michael ran his hands over his face. He knew that they would be worried but it was done now.

”Listen. I’m fine. I can take care of myself. Just tell them I’m fine.”

“Michael…” Max began.

“Don’t Max there are things that I need to take care of and I’m going to.”

“I thought that we agreed…”

“Things change ok. I’ll explain everything when I get back.”

Michael spotted the blinds in one of the upstairs windows move.

“I got to go.” He said quickly into the phone and then snapped it shut.

His breath caught in his chest when he saw her silhouette appear in the window.

Her felt something deep within him stir as he watched her stare out the window. He wished he was there with her in that moment his arms wrapped strongly around her. It’s how it should have been but instead he was outside hiding behind a tree like a stalker.

He watched as she suddenly stuck her head out the window. He was glad that he had picked a spot that allowed the house to be fully visible to him but where he remained hidden in the shadows.

She closed the window and pulled the blinds shut. He knew she was going to have company today but this needed to be done. He decided to give her some time to get dressed and then they would talk.


Maria walked down the steps into the large space that served as a living area. She had fallen in love with the house because of its layout. It had a large foyer and from the foyer you walked down three steps in to the Great Room as the architect had called it. To the right was a large staircase that led to the bedrooms upstairs but what she really loved was that the great rooms ceilings were so high that when you were upstairs the hallway was a balcony to that room. It was truly breathtaking.

The rest of the house was gorgeous as well. There was a large kitchen to the left of the great room and a huge dining room off of the kitchen which formed an L shape and connected with the other end of the great room.

As she poured herself a cup of coffee she smiled as she peaked in at the dining area that her mother had set up the night before. It was absolutely breath taking with the white silver and blue table cloth and the blue and white hand made candle sticks. Each place setting had a blue and silver snowflake napkin held in place with jingle bell napkin rings. It was exactly as she wanted.

She walked back to the great room and fussed with the presents under her 12 foot Christmas Tree. Everything looked perfect.

She was startled by the door bell and looked at her watch 7:00.

“Who the hell could that be?” She thought to herself as she walked to the foyer and opened the door.

Michael stood outside fidgeting on both feet as he waited for her to open the front door.

When she did he felt the air leave his lungs. She was a vision.

Her long dark hair was swept up in a twist that allowed stray pieces of hair to frame her face. She was wearing a fitted off the shoulder Ivory cashmere sweater that had gold thread weaved through it and her Ivory skirt fell just above her knee.

If he hadn’t believed it before he knew it now. Maria was more beautiful than ever.

The two of them stood in silence for a few moments. Maria had been surprised to find him at her doorstep dressed in the same faded jeans and black t-shirt he had been wearing the night before.

Now in the light of day and with fewer emotions coursing through her she took in his appearance.

His hair was longer and he combed it to the left side so that his bangs hung slightly over his left eye. She had to consciously stop herself from brushing them away from his face so she could see him better. As if reading her mind he ran his hands through his hair lifting his bangs and letting them fall again.

She felt her knees go weak when she saw the reason he must have chosen to wear his hair that way. He had a raised scar running from his hairline to the beginning of his left eyebrow.

A million things began running through her mind and then she was brought back to reality by the sound of his voice.

“Maria.”

“What are you doing here?” She asked when she found her voice again.

“I need to talk to you.”

She glanced nervously into the house.

“You can’t be here.” She said in a hushed tone.

“Please.”

Maria looked at him his eyes pleading with her not to turn him away. It was the same look he had all those years ago when he came to her bedroom window in the rain. She knew there was now denying him when he looked at her like that, even now.

“Fine, come in.”

She ushered him into the foyer and led him into the Great Room.

Michael took in his surroundings. Her home was beautiful. It was a far cry from her small home in Roswell. She had done well for herself.

“You have a nice house.” He said trying to ease into a conversation he knew was not going to be easy.

Maria was glancing around her house nervously. He couldn’t be here. She needed him to say his peace and go.

She narrowed her eyes at him and pressed her perfectly lined red lips together.

“I know that you didn’t come here to tall me what a nice house I have Michael. So let’s forget about the pleasantries and get on with this. I have a lot to do.”

Michael heard the sadness and anger in her tone. He hated that he was the one that had put it their.

“Maria I…” He began to say when he was interrupted by his cell phone.

Maria shook her head.

“Unbelievable. I see you had time to make it to T-Mobile.” She said angrily.

He looked at the caller ID.

‘Damn him.’ He thought.

He flipped open the phone and yelled “Not now!” into it and slammed it shut.

“I don’t think Max is going to like that to much.”

“He’s not my keeper.” Michael said with a shrug.

Maria began tapping he foot nervously.

“Well are you going to tell me what is so important you had to come to my home this early in the morning?”

Again he started to say something but this time he was interrupted by a screech coming from the top of the steps.

‘This isn’t happening.’ Maria thought to herself.

He watched Maria go pale and followed her eyes toward the source of the sound and was met with a sight he never expected.

I'm Back. Thank you so much for your feedback. The first scene in this part is where I got the idea for this story. It was on Christmas and I had a dream of this scene. Which is really weird I know but I built this story around that dream.lol

So here it is.

Part 5

Till we meet again

What happened next seemed to Michael as if it happened in slow motion.

He turned to locate the source of the sound. He turned his head to the top of the stairs and was met with the last thing he expected and something he would never forget.

Standing at the top of the steps was a small child wearing a light blue nightgown with little snowmen on it. She had long wavy sandy brown hair that fell over her shoulders and bounced up and down as she did, but it was the eyes that had him mesmerized. The child’s eyes were Maria’s green eyes and that could mean only one thing. This was Maria’s daughter and if he had her age right it also meant…

Before he could complete his thought the little girl finished it for him.

“DADDY!” She yelled and came barreling down the stairs toward him.

As if on instinct Michael kneeled down to her level.

“I knew it!!. I knew he could do it! He can do anything!” She said as she threw herself into Michael’s arms.

Michael wrapped his arms around her tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes. He had a daughter. He wanted to remember this moment forever, the way she felt in his arms for the first time and the way her hair tickled his nose.

‘How could I have not known?’ He thought to himself as he breathed in her scent.
She smelled like vanilla and baby shampoo.


All the time Michael was embracing his daughter she continued to chatter on in pure Maria fashion.

“I told that Becky Martin that he was real and I was right. H e found you and brought you home.!!” She squealed in delight and squeezed Michael tightly.

Maria watched the reunion tears falling from her eyes. She watched as her daughter threw her arms around Michael’s neck and continued to chatter away. She had waited for this moment for five years.

Both Maria and Michael were startled out of their own thoughts when the chattering stopped.

The little girl pulled her head back from Michael’s chest and gave him a perplexed look.

Michael became nervous. Had he done something wrong? Did she hate him for being gone all this time? A million thoughts ran through his mind in those few seconds of silence.

“So did you get to ride on the sled?” She asked enthusiastically.

It was Michael’s turn to look at her perplexed this time but it was Maria who spoke.

“Mikayla, what are you talking about?” She asked the question they both were thinking.

By this time Mikayla had disengaged from Michael’s embrace and was staring at both her parents. She tapped her foot impatiently and in that moment she looked like a mini-Maria.

“Santa! He brought Daddy to me as my Christmas present.” She said to the both of them as if it should be obvious.

“Becky told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus. She said she could prove it. She said ask Santa for the thing you want most but don’t think you’ll ever get. So I did.”

Maria felt a pang of pain rip through her heart. She had tried so hard to be the best Mother she could be so that not having a father wouldn’t be so painful for Mikayla and yet still she had felt it.

Michael too felt as if his heart had been placed in a vice grip. The one thing his daughter wanted was him. She had been hurting because he wasn’t there. He didn’t know if he would ever forgive himself for not being there for her.

“Well?” She said tapping her foot again.

“Did you get to ride on the sled?”

“You could say that.” He choked out through his tears.

“Hooray. Nobody else at school has a Daddy who rode on Santa’s sleigh.

“Don’t be sad Daddy. You’re here now.”

“I’m not sad sweetie.” He said wiping the tears from his eyes.

“Yes you are. I can feel it here.” She said as she placed her hands over her heart.

At her remark Michael moved his gaze from his daughter for the first time and looked at the other person in the room, the mother of his child.

Their tear filled eyes locked with each other.

Mikayla interrupted. “Don’t worry Mommy it will be ok.”

She said giving her Mother a big Hug.

“I know sweetie.”

Mikayla kissed her mother on the cheek.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Kay.” She said holding her tightly against her.

Maria knew that Michael had questions and she also knew that she didn’t want to answer those questions in front of her daughter.

“”Kay, why don’t you go upstairs and put your Christmas dress on?”

“Do I have to?” She said giving her the pleading eyes that always reminded her of Michael.

“I’m sure Daddy would love to see how pretty you look in it and when you come down you can open up the rest of your presents.”

“There are more?” She screamed.

“You were a good girl weren’t you?”

Mikayla nodded her head vigorously.

“Then of course there are.”

“I love Christmas. Wait till I tell Luke.” She said as she jumped up and down.

She headed for the stairs but not before stopping to give Michael one more hug.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Don’t worry munchkin. I’m not going anywhere.” He said as his gaze fell on Maria.

He watched as she bounced up the stairs happily.

When he could no longer see or hear her he turned toward Maria.

“Michael..” She began.

Michael turned toward Maria all the muscles in his jaw tightening.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” He spat out.”

Maria stopped talking and looked at him. He wasn’t serious.

He narrowed his eyes at her waiting for an answer.

‘He is serious.’ She thought to herself and then she started to get angry.

“Excuse me?” She spat right back at him.

“You heard me were you ever going to tell me I had a daughter?”

“Sure Michael. I would have liked to have told you five years ago when you got me pregnant and then left the fucking planet.” She yelled poking him in the chest.

Michael moved back as she poked him.

“Or I could have told you when you got back but no, you didn’t let me know you were back. I had to find out in the Damn A&P.” She continued to yell.

“You could have told me last night.”

“Sure lets see when should I have done that when you saw me and told me you shouldn’t be there. Should I have told you then? I don’t think so. I’m an adult Michael I can deal with rejection she’s just a child she can’t.”

“I would never reject her. I would never hurt her.”

“How am I supposed to know that? It’s obvious what I thought we had we didn’t. That was perfectly clear last night.”

“Maria…”

“Don’t feel obligated to us Michael.” She said beginning to pace and ignoring his interruption.

“I’ve been taking care of her by myself for almost 5 years. Mikayla is a very happy little girl. So if you plan to walk into her life and then walk out again just don’t.”

Michael stood there silently taking in everything she was saying. She was angry and he knew she had every right to be but Mikayla was his daughter. He would never hurt her. He knew Maria had abandonment issues with her father and she was only trying to protect Mikayla.

“I won’t hurt her. I didn’t know… If I would have known…”

He didn’t know what to say. He had left her to take care of a baby on her own. Even if he hadn’t wanted to he had. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. She thought he hated her, didn’t want to be with her. He loved her so much.

He reached out and touched her to stop her from pacing.

Maria felt the electric connection the moment that he touched her. She lifted her eyes to meet his.

“I promise you I won’t hurt her.”

“You better not Michael because I warn you alien or not if you do I will hunt you down. I don’t care what planet you’re on.”

Michael just nodded his head in understanding but did not let go of her arm.

“How did she know it was me?” He asked.

“What?” She asked confused. She didn’t know if it was from the question or from the fact that he was still touching her.

“How did she know I was her father? I could have been anyone.”

“Oh.” She said her eyes meeting his.

“She’s seen pictures, heard stories. I wanted her to know who you were.”

He wanted so badly to kiss her in that moment. To take all of the pain both of them had endured the last five years away.

He lowered his head towards hers. He could feel her breath on his lips.

Maria’s heart skipped a beat as she felt his breath on her. Why was he so hard to resist?

Her head was telling her no but every cell in her body was screaming yes.

“I’m ready!!” Came the shout from the top of the stairs effectively breaking the moment.

Maria removed herself from Michael’s grasp and regained her composure.

Mikayla came down the stairs dressed in a burgundy dress white tights and patent leather shoes.

She stopped in the middle of the room and did a complete spin so that the sides of the dress flared as she turned.

“How do I look Daddy?” She asked.

“Mikayla, you may be the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen.”

She giggled and played with her dress hem.

“Can I open up presents now?” She said turning to her mother.

“Of course and then will have breakfast before everyone gets here.”

Mikayla turned around to Michael.

“You’re staying. Right?” She asked her eyes pleading.

“Daddy might have to…” Maria began.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He said and ruffled the hair on her head.

Mikayla squealed and headed for the tree and her presents.

“Michael, you can’t stay. I’ve got my mother and Liz, Alex and Kyle coming over. You can’t be here.”

“And Luke?” Michael said.

Maria looked at him confused. How did he know about Luke?

“Luke?” She said.

He had been jealous the minute that he heard Mikayla mention him. He must be Maria’s boyfriend he thought.

“Yes, Luke.” He said through gritted teeth.

Suddenly Maria realized what he was thinking.

“Yes Luke will be here.” She said dreamily.

Michael thought he was going to be sick.

“That is if my mother can strap him down in his car seat long enough to get him over hear.”

Michael looked at her perplexed and the look on his face made her burst in to hysterics.

“Luke is 4 and a half and my brother.”

“What?”

“Mine and Kyle’s brother to be exact.”

“Your Mom and the sheriff…”

“Yep, right after you left.”

“Good for them.” He said shaking his head in disbelief.

“But really Michael you can’t be here when they get here.”

“I’m not going anywhere Maria. Don’t you think I’ve missed enough in her life?”

“What about the others. I thought you said you weren’t supposed to see us.”

“Things change.” Was all he said before he walked over to his daughter who was ripping into her gifts.

Maria watched father and daughter examine all the toys and smiled. After a few moments of watching she sighed and grabbed the phone. She had to get in touch with Liz.

Part 6

Maria raced around her house in a nervous frenzy. She hadn’t been able to get a hold of any of her friends and she knew that would mean one thing when they arrived, fireworks.

Michael and Mikayla had been playing with her Christmas presents and getting acquainted. They were currently upstairs playing with the Barbie dream house Michael had put together for her.

Maria choked back a giggle at the thought of Michael Guerin playing with Barbie dolls.

”It’s only been a few hours and she already has him wrapped around her little finger.”

She looked at her watch. It was 12:00 and they would be arriving shortly.
As if on cue the bell rang. Maria ran toward the foyer and pulled open the door.

“Merry Christmas!” Liz yelled from behind some packages.

“Liz! Thank God you’re finally here.” Maria said as she grabbed her arm and pulled her in.

It was then that Maria noticed that Liz was not alone.

“Ryan.” She said surprised to see him.

He was tall about six feet with sandy blond hair and incredible green eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Maria.” He said following Liz into the house.

“Ryan had no where to go because his flight back home was cancelled because of that big storm on the east coast. I knew you wouldn’t mind if I invited him with me today.”

“No of course not and Mikayla will love that her Pediatrician is here. She adores you.” She said giving him a huge smile.

“Let me take your coats.” She said taking them and placing them in the closet.

Maria took the packages from Liz and placed them on top of the ones Ryan was already holding.

“Would you mind taking those inside and putting them under the tree.” She said sweetly.

“Sure.” He said and smiled.

When she was sure he was out of ear shot she turned to Liz.

“Where have you been? I have been trying to reach you all night.”

“Maria, I’m fine I was at Ryan’s.”

“All night?” She said quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes all night.” She said with a smile.

Maria started to say something but Liz held up her hand.

“No, I did not sleep with him. Well I did sleep with him but not sleep with him, sleep with him.” She said shaking her head.

She took a deep breath and smiled.

“It’s going to be a new year and I am ready to move on. It’s time. As much as I try to resist it I think I’m falling for him.” She said with a blush.

Maria felt her stomach roll. How could she do this to her? She was finally ready to move on and now she had to break it to her that they were back.

“Why were you trying to get me?”

“I know that you’re not going to be happy about this but…” Maria began.

Maria was interrupted by the sound of her daughter’s voice.

“Aunt Lizzie!” She yelled as she barreled into Liz throwing her arms around her.

“How’s my La, La doing?”

“Aunt Lizzie La, La is a baby name. I’m almost five.” She said holding up her fingers.

“Liz hugged her tight.

“And you’re such a big girl but you will always be my La, La.”

“I got the best Christmas gift Aunt Lizzie.”

“You did? Was it the Barbie dream house you wanted?” She said with a knowing smile.

“It’s even better then that.” She said bouncing up and down.

Liz looked confused. Mikayla had been talking about the Barbie dream house for months. What could she have possibly gotten that she wanted more than that?

“Honey, why don’t you go inside so I can talk to Aunt Liz?”

“But Mom...” She whined.

Maria gave her a stern look and Mikayla quieted down.

“Maria what is going on?” Liz asked knowing something was up.

Before Maria could answer her Liz heard a voice that brought her back almost 5 years.

“Mikayla, where are you…” The last part came out so low you could barely hear it when he saw who was in the foyer with his daughter.

Liz stood rooted to the spot she was standing. She felt her stomach churn and felt as if her early morning breakfast was going to soon be seen by everyone.

They were back. When had he gotten here? Where were the others? Was Max ok? Was he alive? A million things began to run through her mind.

The sound of Mikayla’s voice brought Liz out of her daze.


“Santa brought him on the sleigh.” She said proudly.

Liz bent down to her level.

“You must have been a very good girl to get such a special gift.”

“Dr. Ryan is by the tree and I think he has a present for you. Why don’t you go and see.”

“Yippee.” She exclaimed and ran to the tree.

Liz took a deep breath and turn to look at Maria and then Michael.

“Liz it’s good to see you.” He said breaking the silence.

She gave him a weak smile.

“When did you get back?” She asked.

“We got back a few days ago.” The statement effectively answered her next question.

Her eyes shot to Maria.

“Don’t look at me.” Maria said holding her hands up in defense.

“I found him at the supermarket last night.” She said giving Michael a dirty look.

“What? You’ve been back a few days and she just happened to find out you were back by accident. Do you have any idea what she has been through?” Liz said her anger starting to reach its boiling point.

“It’s complicated.” He said.

“It always is with all of you.”

”Excuse me.” A male voice came from inside the house.

“Is everything ok?” Ryan asked looking at the three people having an intense conversation in the foyer.

“Who are you?” Michael said abruptly.

“Dr. Ryan Carmichael.” He said reaching out his hand for Michael to shake. When Michael didn’t immediately take it Maria hit him on the shoulder forcing him too.

“Ryan is my boyfriend.” Liz said as she moved to Ryan’s side.

He smiled at her and she returned it. He still couldn’t believe that she had finally agreed to start a relationship with him.

Michael looked surprised.

“What did you think that I spent the last five and a half years pining away?” She scoffed.

“Are you an old boyfriend of Liz’s?” Ryan asked curious after her last statement.

Maria and Liz began to laugh.

”What’s so funny?” Michael asked.

“You and Liz dating.” Maria spit out through fits of laughter.

Michael did not look amused.

When Liz and Maria were through with their laugh Liz explained.

“This is Maria’s ex and Mikayla’s father.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Mikayla was in contact with her father?”

“Yeah well she is.” Michael said and glared at Ryan.

“Ok well I know that my foyer is beautiful and all but why don’t we move into the great room.” Maria said trying to head off a confrontation between Michael and Ryan.

Before they had a chance to move out of the Foyer the door flew open.

Maria knew that could mean only one of two people had arrived, Alex or Kyle.

When she turned around she found that she was right. It was both of them.

Kyle spotted Michael immediately and clenched his fists at his sides.

“You.” He spat.

Alex had a mound of presents in front of his face so he did not see Michael.

“It’s nice to see you to Valenti.” Michael said with a smirk.

The minute Alex heard his voice he lost the battle of holding the presents and dropped them at his feet.

Michael was here and that could mean Isabel was too.

Michael nodded his head toward Alex.

“Whitman.”

Alex finally found his voice.

“When did you get back?”

“We got back a few days ago.” He answered again.

‘We, he said we. She’s back. She has to be.’ Alex thought to himself. After all of these years he was finally going to see her again.

Before Alex could contemplate what that meant Kyle had advanced toward Michael and they were now nose to nose.

“So why the hell are you here now?” He spat at him.

Maria quickly ran over and stepped between them.

“He came to see Mikayla and look who else is here.” Maria said as she pushed Kyle back and gestured toward Ryan.

Kyle quickly took note of the Non I know an alien club member in the room.

“Hey ,Ryan.”

Mikayla came barreling into the room and stopped suddenly looking at her Uncle Kyle.

“Uncle Kyle why are you so mad?” She asked.

‘Damn.’ Kyle mentally scolded himself he had forgotten about Mikayla.

Maria threw him a stern look.

“I’m not mad Mikayla. I’m just surprised to see your daddy.”

Mikayla looked at her Uncle Kyle and nodded when she was satisfied that he was ok.

She put her arms around him in a hug.

“You know I like everyone to be happy.”

“I know sweetie. Everything is fine.” He said stroking her hair.

Envy and Jealousy began to course through Michael’s veins as he watched the moment between Mikayla and Kyle.

‘It should be me who knows what she likes.’

“Hey don’t I get a hug from my best Girl?” Alex asked.

“Hi, Uncle Alex.” Mikayla said and gave him a hug.

“You know I like mommy’s foyer but I bet there are some presents under that tree for me and I would like to get them.”

“Uncle Alex you know you can’t open your presents until Luke gets here.”

“Can’t I just take a peek?” He said pretending to plead with her.

Mikayla shook her head no and smiled.

Alex scooped her up and started carrying her inside.

“Then we will just shake the boxes and see if we can guess.” He said before they disappeared into the house.

“This isn’t over Guerin.” Kyle said as he walked past him.

Michael rolled his eyes; at least some things hadn’t changed.

Liz shot Michael a dirty look and then grabbed Ryan’s hand leading him toward the great room.

When they were alone Michael looked at Maria.

“Well that went well.” He said sarcastically.

“That was nothing you still have to see my mother.” She said and then followed the others inside.

Michael visibly cringed and rubbed his face with his hands. He was not looking forward to the confrontation with Amy but he wasn’t going anywhere, ever.

Hi everybody thanks so much for all the feedback. I am back with the next part. This gives a little insight in to the past of Alex and Isabel. We will be getting flashbacks here and there. Let me know what you think.

Part 7


“Where is Grandma Amy?” Mikayla whined to her mother.

“She will be here soon sweetie. You know Luke had to open up all his presents at home too.” She said smiling at her.

It had been a half hour since Liz, Alex and Kyle had arrived and learned of the Pod squads return. In that time Liz had been trying to keep herself busy by showing Ryan the house and cooking the sweet potatoes.

Maria knew what she was doing. She thought that if she just kept moving she would be able to forget the fact that Max was back. It was one thing to know that the man you thought was your soul mate, the man who in another time had been your husband, had a child with another woman but it was an entirely different thing to have to see it.

Kyle had spent the time glaring at Michael and mumbling to himself. He too had to deal with the fact that the woman he loved and probably still did, had a child with a man he had lost to one too many times. It wasn’t that he hated Michael it was that he hated the whole idea of the pod squad being back. Deep down inside he knew it meant one thing for him, pain.

Alex on the other hand had been sitting on the couch in stunned silence at the knowledge that Isabel was back. As he sat there his mind wandered to the last time he had seen her.

Alex sat in the crashdown drinking an orange soda and looking over some sheet music.

He had been inspired by his recent time with Isabel to begin writing music again. It had been an amazing couple of weeks. After the Prom she had finally opened up to him and they had been inseparable ever since.

Just last night they had gone out to the desert and had a picnic under the stars. They had laid there for hours just holding each other and it had felt like it was always meant to be. A blush rose in his cheeks as he thought about the other activities they had engaged in. They were taking it slowly but Alex knew that just kissing his Isabel was better than anything the other high school boys were experiencing even if they had gotten further along with there girlfriends.

Alex was startled from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Isabel standing behind him. She was wearing a sleeveless red button down shirt with black capris and her hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail.

She was radiant as usual but what immediately struck him were her eyes. She had been crying and there was a great sadness there as well. What ever was coming he knew it wasn’t going to be good.

“Isabel…” He began immediately getting up off his stool.

“Can we talk?” She said not looking him in the eye.

A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He now knew this was not going to be good.

Alex took Isabel’s hand and she squeezed it tightly as he led her to a booth.

“Iz, what is it?”

She looked up at him and there eyes locked.

“I’m leaving.” S he said just above a whisper.

“What? College isn’t for another three months.”

“I’m not going to college Alex.”

“What do you mean you’re not going to college?” HE asked his left eyebrow rose in confusion.

“I’m going back.” She said and raised her finger toward the ceiling.

It took him a few moments to realize the implications of what he was hearing.

“What? How?”

“Basically my brother screwed up big time. He got Tess pregnant and the baby can’t survive on earth. They know an heir has been conceived and they had Larek contact us.”

A million things ran through his mind. The First was that it was a mistake he had heard from Liz that they were working things out. Second was that they were going to another plane and third was that she was leaving.

“They are sending a ship for you?” He whispered.

“No we are going to use the Granolith.”

“The Granolith?”

“Apparently our ticket home has been here all along.”

“Isabel, how do you feel about this?” He asked once again thinking of her before himself.

“I don’t want to go.” She said as tears began to fall freely from her beautiful brown eyes.

“Then don’t.”

He reached across the table and placed her hand in his.

“I love you Isabel.”

She looked up at him and smiled.

“I have to go. I can’t let Max go through this alone. He needs me.”

“I can’t believe this.”

He shook his head. His thoughts turned to how much time they had left together.

“When?”

“Tomorrow.” She whispered.

If someone had taken a picture of him at that moment it would have looked like someone had stabbed him in the gut.

“I’m sorry Alex. These last few weeks have been so wonderful. I know that we have something special. You have made me feel so special and when you look at me I know that you see me Isabel Evans not some alien hybrid. Because of you I know that I can let others see me.”

They sat in silence.

Alex gripped her hands tightly beneath his own. He memorized her face, every inch of it. He couldn’t believe that she was not going to be a part of his life.

Slowly she removed her hands from his. She slid out of the booth and moved to his side sliding in next to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Isabel.” He breathed out. She pulled back and gazed into his eyes and then she placed her lips on his. It was sweet and tender and filled with regret.

When they broke the kiss she placed her head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. “I will never forget you Alex. You’ll always be my first love.”

After the words were spoken she detangled herself from his arms slid out of the booth and gave him a sad smile. He watched as she slowly walked out of the crashdown and out of his life.

Alex was startled from his memory by shouting from the foyer.

“You bastard!” That voice could belong to only one woman.

Alex jumped to his feet he wouldn’t miss this for the world.

“You got my baby pregnant and then took off for God knows where. I trusted you Michael.” She yelled.

“Amy calm down.” Jim said placing his hand on her arm.

“Calm down Jim? You want me to calm down after what she had to go through?”

Alex watched as Jim sighed and ushered Luke into the other room.

Amy then turned her attention back to Michael.

“I thought you were one of the good ones. I even told her that. If I had known what you would do I wouldn’t have hit you with just a newspaper that morning I found you with her.”

“Mrs. Deluca I’m sorry I didn’t know that Maria was pregnant.”

“It’s Valenti and that doesn’t make it all ok. You broke my daughter’s heart.”

“Mom.” Maria said in a warning tone.

“What Maria? You want me to lie and say it has been easy for you, raising her alone, especially with his genes.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked.

Amy eyed Ryan and then looked at Michael again.

“Let’s just say that I’m a little bit more informed about things then I was when you were teenagers.”

Michael groaned knowing that could mean only one thing. Amy knew about his otherworldly origins.

When Michael didn’t say anything Amy tapped her foot. “Nothing to say?”

Then she did something no one expected she began hitting him with her handbag.

Michael began inching back his hands trying to stop the onslaught of the handbag.

“Mom!” Maria yelled.

Michael looked at her for help. He had been through a lot and he could take this but was it really necessary?

Maria gave him an evil smile.

“Don’t use your coach bag. Here take Liz’s it’s a copy.” She said as she tossed Liz’s bag to her mom.

She caught it and proceeded to continue to whack him with it and mumbling something about taking away his manhood.

Michael shot Maria a dirty look and continued to defend himself.

“Grandma Amy!!” Mikayla yelled as she stomped towards her grandmother.

Her Grandmother stopped at the sound of her voice and blew away the hair that was in front of her eyes.

“Why are you hitting my dad with that imitation handbag?”

Alex laughed when he heard her state the handbag was an imitation. She was so Maria’s daughter.

Liz leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I refuse to pay $300 for a name on a handbag.” She huffed.

That elicited a huge grin from him.

“Mikayla…” Amy stammered.

Maria put her hands on her hips and looked at her sternly.

Michael got down to his daughters level.

“Grandma Amy was just surprised to see me. She always hits me with something when she’s surprised to see me.”

Maria snorted a laugh at his comment.

“Daddy’s right, it is a tradition.” Amy said.

I have presents for you. She said trying to distract her from the scene she had just witnessed. Like with any child her age it worked.

“Hooray!” She yelled and headed toward the tree yelling to Luke. “It’s present time.”

Amy quickly followed her but not before she threw another comment at Michael. “If you hurt them there won’t be a planet in the universe you can hide.”

Some of the dialouge in this chapter is from Departure and I take no credit for it. No infringement intended.

Part 8

Liz sat and watched as her friends opened their presents. She was still in shock as she watched Michael tickle Mikayla playfully. Up until this very moment she had been doing a very good job of not thinking about him being there or the fact that they were back.

‘They should have just stayed where they were.’ She thought to herself but one look at how happy Mikayla was and she knew it wasn’t all bad.

‘Michael should have come alone.’ Yes that was a better thought she nodded silently to herself.

It had taken Liz a long time to decide to move on. She wasn’t ready to let anyone in. She didn’t want to get hurt again. Until she met Ryan she thought she would be alone for the rest of her life.

At first she had resisted his advances but as she got to know him she began to ask herself why she was saying no. God knows she was attracted to him from the moment she met him. The man was gorgeous. All the nurses at the hospital had a crush on him. But it wasn’t his looks that had changed her mind about him it was who he was. She watched him with his patients and their families. He was always so genuinely concerned.

She remembered this one time he had preformed surgery on a little girls arm and she was so afraid to go under the anesthesia. He held her hand till she fell asleep and then made a point to stay in the recovery room till she woke up. He could have had one of the nurses stay with her but he didn’t. It was in that moment that she knew more than anything else she was attracted to his heart.

The next day she accepted his request for dinner. That had been almost six months ago and they had been dating secretly ever since.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to share her relationship with her friends. God knows there had been plenty of times she had almost slipped with Maria. It was more that if they knew it would be tainted by her past. There would be the inevitable conversation about whether or not she was truly ready and she didn’t want the relationship to start out that way.


She knew that part of her heart would always belong to Max. He was her first love but she believed her adult heart was ready to love Ryan and she wanted her friends to be a part of that. She had finally decided tonight was the night she would tell them. They were far enough in to their relationship that it wouldn’t be hurt by talk of the past. Or so she had thought before her world was turned upside down with the arrival of Michael Guerin.

If she really thought about it she had known they were back or at least that he was. She had sensed it. Over the last year she had made a conscious decision not to think about him anymore and it had worked. It was one of the reasons that she had decided to move on. Then a few days ago she felt a sensation she hadn’t felt in over five years. It felt like a tingling sensation at the back of her neck. She had ignored it at first and then last night it had become too hard to deny and she had run to Ryan’s. There she could ignore it. She could pretend it wasn’t true, wrap herself in his arms and pretend everything was ok. But right now there were no distractions and her mind kept wandering to Max.

Liz finished writing in her journal and closed it. She didn’t know why Max had started to pull away from her again. Ever since their trip to Vegas things had been going great for them, then all of a sudden a few days after Prom he started avoiding her. She had tried everything to get him to open up to her but he would always give her some excuse. It was getting very frustrating.

She began to undress when she felt the familiar sensation and knew that Max was near. She smiled and pulled her Nightshirt on and went to the balcony to let him in.

“Hi. I was just thinking about you.” She said with a smile but her smile faded when she saw that he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“We need to talk.” He said and sat down in one of the chairs.

“Ok.” She said sitting down next to him. She did not have a good feeling about this. Something was terribly wrong.

Max ran his hands though his hair and sighed.

“There is no easy way to say this. I’ve been walking around all day trying to figure out how I’m going to tell you this.”

Liz placed her hand on his arm. “What is it?”

He looked up at her tears threatening to fall at any moment.

“I slept with Tess.”

She pulled her hand away as if it had been burnt by hot coals

She shook her head as tears sprang to her eyes. ‘No, she didn’t hear him say he had slept with Tess.’

She raised her eyes to meet his and when she did she knew he was telling the truth.

“Tess is pregnant.”

At those words Liz sprung to her feet and ran into her room. Max stood at the doorway.

“I’m Sorry.”

“You’re sorry. How could you? I trusted you, I gave you everything. I jumped off bridges for you, I broke laws for you, I risked getting shot for you, I trusted you! And you go off-- God, with Tess-- God, I saved myself for you!”

“Saved yourself? You slept with Kyle.”

“You know what this was the way it was supposed to be.” She rubbed the tears from her cheeks as she said it.

“What? What are you talking about?”

She looked up at him and their eyes met.

“God, you never slept with Kyle did you.”

She shook her head to acknowledge that he was right.

“Why?”

“Nothing it doesn’t matter anymore.” She said as she waved her hands in front of her face.

“I need to know Liz I’m leaving.”

“What?” She said surprised that she was startled by anything he had to say after what he had just told her.

“Are you and Tess going off to Vegas to get hitched?” Every word dripped with bitterness.

“The baby is sick it can’t survive here. We are going back.”

She pointed upwards. “Back.”

He nodded.

“How?”

“The granolith it can be used for space travel.”

She knew that it could be used for time travel but space travel, Future Max hadn’t said anything about that.

“Apparently they have some way of knowing that Tess is pregnant. They knew the heir was conceived and sent for us. Larek told us the location of a crystal that activates the Granolith.”

“You could have left at anytime.”

“I wouldn’t have given up any of my time with you.”

She looked up at him tears in her eyes.

“Do you love her?”

“Not like I love you.”

She scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to make it all better? Not the way I love you? I mean what is that?”

“Do you think that makes it all better? Should I say gee Max at least you don’t love me the same way you love you’re former wife who you got pregnant?”

“No. I just needed you to know that I love you.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it.”

She turned her back on him and willed him to go away but when she turned around he was still their.

“Liz I want you to have this.”

She took the necklace with the whirlwind galaxy symbol from him and held it tightly in her hand. A few moments passed and then he grabbed her and kissed her. She resisted at first but finally gave into it. She savored the way his lips felt on hers and the way he tasted.

‘How could he do this to me?’ The thought ran through her mind over and over again. It consumed her and she broke away from the kiss.

“You said once we make our own destinies. I guess you’ve made yours.”

She took one last look at him and turned and walked to her bathroom. Closing the door behind her she sank to the floor and hugged her knees. That was the last time she would see Max Evans and when she felt he was gone she broke down and cried.


“Aunt Liz.” Mikayla’s sweet voice broke her from her memories.

She smiled at her goddaughter.

“Yes honey what is it?”

“There was this present for you under the tree.”

Mikayla handed her a small box wrapped in blue snowflake paper.

Liz read the Tag: To Elizabeth Love Ryan.

She looked at him with a smile.

“You didn’t have to do this.” She said.

She heard Kyle mumble to Alex: “Did I miss something?”

“Looks like we both did.” He answered back.

Then she heard Maria: “Are the two of you blind or just stupid.”

“Hey.” They both said at once.

Maria waved her hands in the air.

“They’ve been dating for months.”

Liz looked at her quizzically.

“I t was obvious Chica.” She said with a smile.

Liz gave her a smile of thanks. Liz had been worried that Maria would be angry with her but from the look on her friends face she was just happy for her.

“Well open it already. I’m living vicariously through you, again. The last present I got from a guy was a Jetta bumper from you know who.”

“Someone bought you a bumper as a gift.”

“Yeah real romantic isn’t it. There also was the industrial size bottle of shampoo. I think I still have some of that left.”

Liz Kyle, Alex and Maria all laughed and turned to look at Michael who had just walked in the room with a donut in his hand oblivious to the conversation.

“What?” He asked with his mouth full.

“Nothing. We are all just waiting for Liz to open her present.”

Michael spied the small box in her hand.

His heart began to beat wildly in his chest.

‘Dear God don’t let that be an engagement ring. It was bad enough she had a boyfriend, a Fiancé would be so much worse.’

They all watched as Liz meticulously peeled away the wrapping paper.

Maria rolled her eyes.

Slowly she opened the box and gasped at what was inside.

“It’s gorgeous.” She breathed.

“What is it?” Maria yelled impatiently.

Liz held up her gift. It was a gorgeous antique gold necklace with an oval turqoise stone in the center.

“He’s a keeper Liz.” She said with a smile and nudged her best friend.

She didn’t notice Michael scowl at her comment.

“I saw that you stopped wearing that other necklace you always wore and I thought you might like something new.”

“I love it Ryan. Thank You.”

She threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. Then she handed him the necklace and lifted her hair so he could put it on.

“It looks lovely.” He said admiring it.

Maria leaned over to admire it more closely and Ryan noticed her necklace.

“That’s an interesting piece you have there Maria.” He said.

Maria’s hands immediately went to her neck. It was a smooth amber stone that she had found in the desert shortly after she had found out she was pregnant. She would go out to the desert and just sit and think. One day she found the stone and put it in her bag. She kept it with her all the time. When she had the money she had one of her friends who was a jeweler create a pendant from it and she had worn it everyday since.

“I call it my Mikayla stone because I found it when I found out about her.” She said with a laugh.

“Well it’s beautiful.” He said and put his arms around Liz.

“You like it?” He whispered in her ear.

“I do.” She said as she held it between her fingers.

The necklace this one replaced was the one Max had given her the night they said goodbye.

‘Out with the old and in with the new.’ She thought to herself with a smile.

Maybe things would be ok after all. At least that is what she wanted to believe.

I'll try and come back and respond to feedback later. Things have been crazy in RL. Teething sucks. lol. I just finished the next part and only proof read it once so please excuse any errors.

Till we meet Again
Part 9

Max slammed his cell phone shut.

“Damn it.” He yelled.

“He’s still not answering?” Isabel asked as she walked in to the living room.

“No. I bet he turned his phone off.”

“He’s probably just blowing some steam off. You know Michael.”

“Yes I do know Michael. He’s impulsive and you know as well as I do he is not just blowing steam off.”

Isabel sighed. “How long did you think it would last Max? He never wanted to leave her in the first place.”

“We made a pact Isabel. No one sees them till we figure out how to deal with this situation.”

“And the more I think about it the more I think it stinks. I don’t think it has anything to do with you wanting to “deal with the situation.” You don’t want to see Liz”

“That’s not true.” He yelled.

“Yes it is!”

“You’re afraid that she has moved on.”

“I hope that she has!”

Isabel shook her head.

“You’re still as stubborn as ever!”

“Isabel they can’t know why we are back.”

Tess walked down the steps very quickly.

“Will you two please be quiet? I just got him to go down.”

Her eyes passed over both of them. She could see they were involved in a heated debate.

“Sorry.” They both mumbled.

“How is he doing?” Max asked.

“He is still adjusting to his new surroundings but I’m sure he is going to be fine.”

“What are the two of you yelling about?”

“Max thinks that Michael went to see Maria.”

Tess sighed.

“Would that be so bad?”

Max threw his hands up.

“Not you too. We all agreed no contact.”

“It’s easy to say when you’re on another planet Max and a totally different thing when they are only a few miles away.” Tess said.

Max stared at the two women and then he grabbed his jacket.

“Where do you think your going?” The two women shouted.

“I’m going to go find Michael and stop him from telling Maria why we are back.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Isabel said.

“You can’t stop me.” He said sternly.

“I don’t want to stop you dear brother. I want to go with you.” She said grabbing her own jacket.

“You aren’t going without me.” Tess said.

“I’ll just go tell Serena we are leaving.” She said and headed up the stairs.


A few seconds later she was back.

“Where do we start?” She said when she met them by the door.

Isabel held up a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” Max asked.

“This dear brother is Maria’s address. I had a feeling something like this might happen.”

“Fine let’s go.” He said grabbing the paper from her hand.

They were going to Maria’s and if Maria was still the same old Maria he knew Liz would be with her. The thought of seeing her made his heart beat wildly in his chest. After all these years he would finally get to see her again and even though he tried to deny it this was what he had wanted from the first day they had arrived, to see her again.



Maria, Kyle, Alex, Liz, and Ryan sat at the table having desert and coffee. Michael was playing with Mikayla in the great room. He was having a wonderful time getting to know his daughter.

She was perfect and he couldn’t believe that he could love someone so much and he had only found out he was a father hours ago. He regretted that he had missed so much of her life already and he swore that he wouldn’t miss any more.

He knew that he should call Max again but he wasn’t thinking about that. All he was thinking about was being with his daughter.

It had been an awkward dinner with Kyle shooting him glares and he shooting him glares right back and poor Alex trying to not so subtly get information about Isabel. Then there was Ryan and Liz who looked ever the perfect couple.

Ryan had tried throughout the whole dinner to make polite conversation and had even tried to talk to him. His efforts had gotten him a few one word answers and grunts from him. Even still he continued to try and Michael had to give him credit for trying to make a tense situation better.

‘Damn why couldn’t she be with a jackass.’ He thought to himself.

“Daddy it’s your turn.” Mikayla said breaking Michael from his thoughts.

They were playing a game Michael had never heard of before, Hi Ho Cherry O. It consisted of tiny little cherries on trees and you spun a spinner to see how many cherries you put in your bucket but if you landed on the picture of a spilled bucket all your cherries went back.

He had one cherry left and Mikayla had three. He spun the spinner. It began to slow down and come to stop on the one. He caught a glimpse of his daughters face and she looked like she was going to cry. Immediately he sent a little alien magic toward the spinner and it landed on the bucket.

“Oh no! I got the bucket.” He said pretending to be upset.

“That’s ok daddy. That means we can play together longer.” She said excitedly.

She hadn’t been upset because she thought she was going to lose but because she thought that they would have to stop playing. She was afraid he was going to leave. He didn’t know how he knew that he just did.

They played a few more spins and eventually Mikayla won. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

“Are you tired?” Michael said when she leaned back into him.

“I’m not tired.” She said shaking her head and yawning at the same time.

Michael knew that she was lying and he knew why, again she was afraid he would leave.

“Can I tell you a secret?” He whispered.

She nodded her head enthusiastically and put her thumb in her mouth. Michael felt his heart burst with love and was surprised he could feel anymore then he had only moments earlier.

“I’m not going anywhere. I never wanted to leave your mom and God knows if I had known about you I wouldn’t have even considered it. Your mom and I argue that’s what we do but I love her more than anything in this universe and any other, except for maybe you.”

She looked up at him. “I know daddy.” She said as she pulled her thumb out of her mouth.

She looked so sure as if she truly did know and he was about to question her about it when Maria walked in.

“Ok, sleepyhead it is way past your bedtime.” Maria said as she came in and scooped up her daughter.

Mikayla held her hands out to her dad.

“I want daddy to tuck me in.”

Maria shifted her daughter’s weight from one hip to the other.

Maria looked at Michael.

“Nightgown is in the top drawer, make sure you put a pull up on her and she gets one story before bed. Don’t let her sucker you into more.”

Then she handed her to Michael and went to join her friends in the other room.

Michael stood there shocked. He had thought that she would say no when Mikayla asked but she hadn’t she had just handed her to him.

‘That was too easy.’ He thought.

“Oh shit.” He mumbled.

“We aren’t allowed to say that Daddy.”

“Let’s keep that little slip up between us too.”

“Secrets aren’t good daddy they only cause problems and make people feel bad.”

“Are you 4 or 34?” He asked amazed.

“I’m 4 but I’m going to be 5 soon.”

Michael laughed and headed upstairs and to what must be awaiting him.

Maria returned to her friends who were still having coffee.

“Where is Mikayla?” Liz asked when she returned alone.

A smirk crossed her face as she lifted her coffee.

“Michael’s putting her to bed.”

Liz quirked an eyebrow in her direction.

“Does he know about dolly lullabies?”

Maria stifled a laugh and shook her head.

“I think I’ll let him figure that one out on his own.”

“What are dolly lullabies?” Ryan asked.

Kyle groaned. “I found out the hard way.”

Alex, Liz and Maria burst out laughing.

“Mikayla has 7 dolls in her room and her bedtime ritual is to sing them a song.” Kyle groaned again.

“I think that is sweet.” He said not knowing what all the fuss was about.

“No you don’t get it man. Each doll gets a different song and heaven forbid it’s the same song the doll was sung the night before.”

“How many kid’s songs do you think Michael knows?” Alex asked amused.

Again Maria and Liz began to giggle.

“If only Buddha could make me a fly so I could be up there right now to witness Michael Guerin sing.”

The four friends continued to laugh, even getting close to hysterics at some points.

Ryan looked on amused by there laughter. It was contagious. Even though he had no clue as to why this was so funny. All he knew for sure was that the tension that had filled the house for the entire day was gone if only for now.

He looked down at his pants buckle when he began to feel the vibration of his beeper.
Looking up at Liz he mouthed the words “The hospital.” And then got up and went to the other room to call them.

When he returned he found the four friends still sitting together chatting and laughing.

He walked over and put his hands on Liz’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry but I have to go.”

“Is everything ok?” She asked concern evident in her voice.

He nodded his head. “Timmy Hernandez just came in to the ER complaining of stomach pain. They think it may be appendicitis.”

“Maria thank you so much for having me in your home. I had a really great time.”

“Any time Ryan. You just keep treating my Lizzie well.” She said with a wink.

“Always.” He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

Ryan shook Alex and Kyle’s hands and then he and Liz walked to the foyer.

Liz held on to his hand tightly. She didn’t want him to go. That tickling sensation in her mind was back and she didn’t want to be left alone with it and her thoughts of Max.

She wrapped herself in his arms and pressed her body up against his.

“Call me and let me know how everything is.” She said into his chest.

Ryan stroked her hair with his fingers.

“I will.” He whispered softly.

A chill ran down Liz’s spine and she pressed her body harder against Ryan. Quickly she brought her lips to his.

The doorbell rang and Liz heard Maria say “Who the hell could that be.”

She passed Ryan and Liz and rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about that lovebirds I’ll get it.”

Liz’s senses were heightened and chills began running down her back with an intensity she hadn’t felt in years. She pressed her body even harder against Ryan’s. She felt his body respond and willed him not to break the kiss, because she knew that when he did she would be brought back to reality and the reality was that as much as she wanted it to be, it wasn’t Ryan giving her those feelings.

As if he could read her thoughts Ryan deepened the kiss until his bodily need for air won out. Liz pulled away from him, looked in to his eyes and smiled.

“Wow.” He whispered pulling her closer to him again. She placed her head on his chest with her eyes closed.

She tried to make it go away the feeling that was stirring to life from deep with in. In his arms she was safe from the past and all that mattered was the present and their future but the minute she opened her eyes, her brown ones met amber ones and suddenly Liz’s past and present collided.