Part 28 - School Days

Maria slowly came to consciousness. Smiling, she snuggled even closer to Michael under the covers, appreciating the way that his arms had kept her body tight next to his while they slept. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that he was awake, too. She could feel his pleasure as their bodies touched even more. The tingles of energy were still racing up and down where they touched, which was pretty much everywhere. Michael's hand moved down her back, one finger tracing down her spine.

The jolt of physical pleasure made her eyes spring open. The first things she saw were Michael's eyes, watching intently for her reaction. The light was dimmer now than it had been when they came into the room a few hours ago, but she could see his eyes very clearly. They were glowing the way they had been earlier and were staring at her just as passionately as before. Without a word, both of his hands circled around her waist, lifting and turning her until she was lying on top of him.

Then, the room and everything in it seemed to vanish as his mouth was on hers again. There was only them and the way they felt.

Eventually, Maria pulled back away from him. Propping her arms on either side of his head, she looked down at him. "Hey."

She saw the smile on his face as he leaned over to kiss her shoulder. "Hey." Rolling her over so that they were side by side, looking at each other, he continued. "How are you doing?"

She had to laugh. "Pretty incredible, actually. How about you?"

Michael lifted up one of her hands, slowly kissing the tips of her fingers. She moaned quietly, moving even closer. "How do you think?"

Silly question, actually. She could feel him through the connection, and he was doing just as well as she was. Then she noticed the clock on the bedside table and jumped up, covering herself with the blanket as she leaped out of the bed. "I've got to get home! My mom's going to freak!"

Quicker than she would have thought anyone could move, Michael was at the edge of the bed, grabbing her arm as she tried to rush by. "Stay, teel-sharan," he said quietly.

Maria stopped still, panic fading away as she looked into his eyes. It was too soon to separate yet - the bond was still too new. Leaning down, she kissed him, realizing that there was no way she could leave yet. She smiled at him. "Let me just give her a call." Then she left the room.

Michael leaned back in the bed, listening to the sounds she made in the next room. This was what he'd always wanted, a home with someone who he could love and trust. He would never have believed it was possible to let someone in so completely. It wasn't just physical, although he certainly wasn't complaining about that part. Closing his eyes and remembering, he couldn't help but smile. Yeah, that part was great. But it was so much more. When they made love, more than just their bodies connected. All the memories and emotions swirling between them had been almost overwhelming at times, but they had managed to ride out the whirlpool. Somehow, at the end, after the emotional explosion, they'd been able to come back to themselves - Michael and Maria, but more now. He wondered how far the connection, the blending of souls, could go.

Michael heard her come back into the room, but didn't move or open his eyes. Maria just sat on the edge of the bed for a minute, looking down at him. She loved looking at him, from his ridiculously messed-up hair to his beautiful lips ( so incredibly kissable) to his hands. His hands were her favorite part of his body, actually. They always seemed to know exactly how to touch her. Just looking at Michael's hands was enough to turn her on again.

At the surge of lust he felt coming from her, Michael did open his eyes to find Maria staring down at him, running her tongue over her lips. He did look good.

Michael raised an inquiring eyebrow, controlling the urge to reach up and grab her. She shrugged her shoulder in response. "I told Mom that I was going to spend the night with Liz," she explained. "Tomorrow being the last day of Spring Break and all. I told her I wanted to have some more time with Liz having fun before going back to school."

"Fun, huh?" Michael smirked.

"Egotist." She grabbed a pillow and hit him over the head with it. In retaliation, Michael grabbed her and pulled her down across him. He teased along the edges of the blanket she was wearing, not quite pulling it down yet, listening to the way her breath sped up whenever he touched her.

"Is tomorrow really the last day of Spring Break?" he asked, a little breathless himself. He could feel himself starting to lose control and rational thought again, focusing solely on Maria.

"Yup." She pushed back a few stray strands of hair off his face. "In less than two days, we are back in the halls of learning."

He rolled his eyes. "Great. I wonder if we're going to have to write one of those 'What I did over Spring Break' essays. 'Cause I think my explanation of how I remembered my past life as an alien warrior might disturb the teacher just a little bit."

She laughed, moving into a more comfortable position in his arms and tracing patterns absently on his chest. "You? Like you would actually write one of those essays, anyway?" Maria leaned down to kiss his chest quickly, liking the vibrations his laugh caused. "How about me, though? What do you think the reaction would be to my essay about how I married an alien over the break?" She looked up quickly to see his response to this.

And wasn't disappointed. Michael suddenly went still, barely breathing, and the arms holding her went rigid. His eyes were on hers in an instant, and didn't look away. "What?"

"I married an alien," she repeated slowly. "That's what all that was about earlier, wasn't it? The whole thing about belonging to each other soul, heart, and body?" She tilted her head to the side consideringly. "Didn't you think I'd figure it out, spaceboy?"

"I wasn't........." he broke off nervously, then started again. "Yeah," he said more firmly. "I guess it was like a marriage. An Antaran marriage. But it doesn't mean anything on Earth. Not if you don't want it to," he finished quickly. Then he waited again.

Maria tried hard not to smile. She could feel how nervous he was, how worried he was that she wasn't going to answer the way he wanted her to. "Well, I'm not saying that we should go around announcing to the world that we're married or anything, spaceboy. That might throw my mother a little, after all." She ran her hand down his cheek gently. "But I told you that we were connected. And I have absolutely no problem with the fact that it's forever. So it means just as much to me as it does to you."

Michael let out the breath he'd been holding. Then he pulled his teela-mei closer to him and showed her how much it meant.

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Hours later, Michael was awake and looking down at the peacefully sleeping figure next to him in the bed. His wife? That was a concept his mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around. His teela-mei. That was easier. More natural. He wondered if that meant he was becoming more alien now that his memories were back. At any rate, what they'd gone through meant more than any possible legal definitions. He supposed this was what it would feel like to be married in a church, in the sight of God. It was more of a spiritual union than a legal one. He had always been rather iffy on the idea of God, himself. He certainly hadn't seen much in his life that made him believe in some higher power looking out for him. He had himself and only himself to rely on. But now, running a finger through Maria's hair as she smiled in her sleep, he was seriously rethinking his earlier conclusions. Because the fact that she was there with him was nothing short of a miracle. And since he hadn't done anything in either lifetime to deserve a miracle like this, there must be someone out there who was giving him a hand.

Deliberately, he ran his hand down her arm, letting it come to rest on her stomach, feeling the tremors of her body through the blanket he'd carefully tucked in over her to keep her warm. Looking down at her thoughtfully, Michael tried to come up with a way, short of melting the doorknobs shut, that he could keep her there, in his bedroom with him, forever. He wanted a way to shut out the rest of the world, with all of its complications - school, work, friends, family, evil aliens, FBI agents, pasts that could never be rewritten or atoned for - and just exist with Maria. He grimaced slightly. No real chance of that. The past wasn't going to just vanish because he wanted it to.

He watched her open her eyes, gradually allowing them to focus on his face. He loved watching her wake up. He wondered what it must be like to have the luxury of waking up slowly, not jumping fully to consciousness so that nothing could hurt you or catch you unawares. It showed a trust in the world that he'd never had.

"Morning," she murmured sleepily.

He just smiled down at her. She frowned at him.

"You're dressed." It sounded like an accusation. He had to laugh at the pout on her face.

"Brilliant observation. It's morning. Well, afternoon."

She peered over his shoulder at the clock. "Lookee there. It is, isn't it?" She stretched lazily, enjoying the way he watched her. "Well, I guess we earned the right to sleep in late." With a mischievous grin, she looked around and grabbed one of his shirts off the floor. Getting up, Maria put the shirt on and then padded around to the other side of the bed to sit next to him. Michael wrapped his arms around her and they just sat there for a moment, silently enjoying the fact that they were together.

"I should probably be heading home soon," she whispered finally.

Michael's arms tightened around her instantly. "You could stay."

Maria looked at him as if he was crazy. "You know, spaceboy, I somehow doubt that my mother is going to buy my staying at Liz's house two nights in a row."

He shook his head, looking down at the floor. "I meant, you could stay here forever. You could move in."

Shocked, she put her hand under his chin to force him to look up at her. "You want me to move in with you?"

"Yes." Michael's voice was filled with total certainty and sincerity. She was thrown.

"Michael, I can't. You know that." She started to speak more quickly. "I mean, we're still in high school, and my mother would absolutely kill me. Or you. It's not like she would understand the whole alien-marriage-bonding thing, even if we did try to explain it to her, which I wouldn't suggest we do, because then she'd probably try to hunt you down and beat you to death with a newspaper. And the sheriff might actually help her do it, because even though he likes you, Michael, I'm not sure he'd approve of this, because he is kind of old-fashioned and all, and I don't think we're ready for it, Michael." She stopped and took a deep breath. "Not yet, Michael." She waited for his reaction, hoping it wouldn't be too bad.

She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or insulted when he smiled at her. "Breathe. You're babbling." She narrowed her eyes at him, but he went on before she could say anything. "It's okay, Maria. We'll take things at whatever speed you want to go." Whispering as he leaned in for a kiss, he went on, "It's enough that you're here with me now."

As the kiss ended, she noticed the new bandage on his hand and reached for it. "You never explained to me what happened."

He shrugged. "I broke a glass."

She sighed in exasperation. "Yes, spaceboy, you told me that part. Why exactly did you break a glass?"

"I had a memory flashback." He really didn't want to talk about this, but he could see from the glint in her eyes that she intended to get the whole story. Better to just answer her questions and then they could go back to putting the rest of the day together to good use.

"That's what I felt," she whispered, pulling aside the bandage. She could see the faint lines of the cuts on his hands, but they really didn't look too serious. Maria made a mental note to learn some first-aid. It would probably come in handy. "Was it really bad?" The grimace he gave her was all the answer she needed. "Did something trigger it? Did something remind you of Antar?"

Michael stared at her blankly for a minute, then she could feel the terror and panic start to spread through him. "Oh, damn." Michael jumped off the bed and went running into the other room. Maria followed him immediately, watching him grab the phone and start dialing.

"What?"

"I remember." Michael turned his attention to whoever was on the other end of the line. "Maxwell? Get everyone together. At the Crashdown at closing. We need to talk." He closed his eyes. "I remembered something I learned at Dagmar's house."

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As the last customer exited the Crashdown, Alex locked the door behind him. It's about time. Don't these people have anything better to do than hang around a cheesy alien theme restaurant? Doing a quick mental inventory of his free time activities, Alex decided not to pursue that line of thought. Instead he walked over to where Liz was busily wiping down the counter. "Here, let me help."

"Thanks." With a smile, Liz handed Alex a rag. He got to work, glancing up at the blond sitting across the counter from him.

"You could help too, you know." Isabel's only response was an eloquently raised eyebrow. With a fond chuckle, he answered himself. "Never mind."

"So what did Michael say the big deal was?" Isabel turned to her brother sitting in the closest booth.

"He didn't." Max looked up from his Calculus book with a frown. "Just that he remembered something from when he was at Dagmar's house. I guess he wants to tell us all together."

Liz stepped away from the counter, carefully dodging Tess, who was being spun around in circles on one of the counter seats by Kyle, and sat down next to Max. "Have you figured out that equation yet?"

"Nope." Frowning, the two of them looked over the textbook intently. Kyle watched this with horror. Finally, unable to stand it, he put out his arm and stopped the spinning Tess.

"Are the two of them actually doing Calculus homework in the last night of Spring Break?" he asked her in a horrified whisper. She looked at them carefully.

"It seems so." Tess shook her head in mock disappointment. "It's very sad, actually. I could mindwarp them into thinking the book was stolen by Skins, if you'd like," she offered helpfully.

"Nah, then they might actually have to have fun for a change, and we wouldn't want to tear them away from Calculus for that," Kyle responded sarcastically.

"I heard that," Max yelled over indignantly. He turned his attention back to Liz. "Are you laughing?"

"No, of course not, Max. I would never laugh at you." With determination, she slammed the book shut. "They're right, though. It's our last night of Spring Break, and until such time as we know we're about to be attacked by evil aliens, we should have some fun."

"Works for me," Kyle said, lifting Tess off her chair. "Isabel, can you give us some music?"

Just as Isabel was reaching for a CD, the back door swung open and Michael entered, Maria close behind him. "Nice of you to show up for your own secret meeting," Isabel commented.

"We had some stuff to do," Maria explained. She didn't see any need to go into the details of how they'd snuck into her house so that she could get a change of clothes.

"I just bet." Kyle snickered. Tess poked him in the side.

"Behave," she hissed.

Michael's attention was on Max. "Where's Valenti?"

"He'll be here," Max replied evenly. "He said he was held up at work. What's going on?"

"I'd rather only have to go through it once." Michael swung himself up on the counter to wait, drumming his fingers impatiently. He didn't look happy.

Liz caught Maria's eye and gestured to the back room. "Well, while we're waiting, I'm just going to clean up some of those dishes in the back. Anyone want to help?"

"No problem." Maria followed her into the back, closely followed by Isabel and Tess. Alex had to admire the rapid evacuation of all the girls from the room. Did they think no one would know they were just going to pump Maria for information? He knew that he and Kyle had tons of questions for Michael, too, but giving the grumpy alien a good look, he figured the questions could wait for a better time.

In the back room, Liz spun around and pulled Maria over to the couch, where the girls surrounded her. "So, what's going on?"

Maria shrugged. "I don't know anything more than you do. Michael's upset about whatever it is that he remembered, but he really only wants to have to go through it once, so I didn't push. I think it's something bad, though."

"I don't think that's what Liz meant," Tess said quietly.

"Oh." Maria looked at them. "You mean, what's going on with Michael and I?" They nodded. "Okay........."

While Maria was filling in the girls, Kyle and Alex were busily playing catch with Max's Calculus book. They finally let him have it back when Valenti walked in from the back room, closely followed by the girls. Michael raised an eyebrow at Maria, noticing the looks he was getting from the other girls. "What was all that about?" he whispered to her.

"I'll tell you about it later. It's not important."

Michael looked around the room at the looks he was getting from the girls. Tess was smiling at him, Liz was blushing, and Isabel had a frankly speculative look on her face. As he looked at her, she grinned, then turned that curious look on Alex. No, Maria wouldn't have talked with them about ..... Would she?

"Sorry I'm so late," Valenti explained as he sat down. "Hanson decided that we should do some reorganization and review of the case files today. He was probably right, but it wasn't exactly a whole lot of fun." Kyle and Tess exchanged a look at the mention of Hanson, but settled down with the others to hear Michael's report.

All eyes were on Michael. He was starting to get nervous, but then felt Maria come up behind him and rub her hand down his back. Without turning around, he reached out and took her hand, holding it as he started to talk. Liz was surprised by the openly public display of affection. This was a side of Michael that was going to take some getting used to.

"Alex probably told you about us going out to Dagmar's house yesterday," Michael started.

"Which was an incredibly dangerous thing to do without telling anyone," Valenti interrupted.

Michael shrugged. "No big deal. I can take care of myself."

"But you don't have to, Michael. Sooner or later, you're going to have to realize that you're not the only one in this group. You're not on your own."

Rather than arguing, Michael nodded at the sheriff. "I know. Next time, I'll let you know before I go wandering off somewhere. Okay?"

Valenti smiled, then tried to hide it. "Okay. Go on."

"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or relieved that I'm not being lectured," Alex whispered to Isabel.

"The sheriff probably knows that I already yelled at you for taking unnecessary risks," she replied. "And is that a conversation we want to repeat?"

"No, ma'am." The laugh in his voice died when he saw that look on Michel's face. He was remembering again. Alex was really growing to dread that look in his friend's eyes.

"When I walked into Dagmar's kitchen, I had a flashback to my life on Antar. To Tymrath's life," he corrected himself with a look at Maria. "It was ..... intense. But I couldn't remember what triggered it until a little while ago. Now I remember."

"Do you know what happened to Dagmar?" Max asked quietly. He was listening to everything, calmly collecting the facts.

Michael shook his head. "Not exactly. But I know something. When I got in the kitchen, I could sense that someone had been hurt here. Hurt badly." He looked down at his hand, so tightly intertwined with Maria's that it was hard to tell where one began and the other left off. "Someone was tortured in the kitchen, and it happened after I left there the other night."

"Dagmar?" Kyle asked, his eyes wide as he took this in.

Michael looked at him. "Probably. I can't be sure. I could feel that there'd been pain and violence there, but I couldn't tell who was involved."

"The working theory being that Nicholas came back for Dagmar," Alex guessed.

"That would fit, wouldn't it?" Isabel replied in a steady voice. Nicholas. That little twerp kept popping up in her life. Something was going to have to be done about him, and soon.

Valenti tilted his head in confusion. "You could feel all this? There was no sign of a fight or anything."

"I know. Yeah, I could just feel it." Michael was just as matter-of-fact, trying to keep some emotional distance. He couldn't allow himself to get swept up in the memories again.

"How?"

"We can all get flashes when things are heightened emotionally," Max explained. "But this is something different. I don't think Isabel or I could do it. Or Tess." The girls shook their heads.

Michael ran his free hand through his hair. "It's something I picked up back on Antar. I guess I just spent so much time around violence that I got to be able to pick up on it."

Isabel had a look of concentration on her face. "That's what you would do after the battles!" she exclaimed. She turned to Max. "Remember? After every battle, Tymrath would go out into the fields alone and just walk around." She looked back at Michael. "You were, what? Picking up on the psychic impressions? And you would always go off scouting first before you'd let the two of us go anywhere, even on a peaceful mission."

"I wanted to make sure that there was nothing ahead to worry about. And that the battles were really over." Michael took a deep breath. "Anyway, that's all."

"So, you realized that Dagmar had probably been tortured, maybe to death, and you didn't mention it until the next day? What's up with that?" Kyle didn't get it.

"He didn't remember." Alex's voice was very quiet. "You didn't see him after the flashback. He was hurt and in shock and couldn't remember what had triggered it." He looked at Maria, standing silently next to Michael. "Plus, I think his mind was focused elsewhere. Shock's a strange thing." Kyle nodded, accepting the explanation.

"So, what do we do now?" Maria asked practically.

"What can we do?" Max asked with a shrug. "This doesn't really change things for us, does it? We don't know where Nicholas is or when he's going to make his next move. All we can do is be careful and watch our backs."

"Poor Dagmar," Isabel whispered. Alex reached over and gave her a hug.

"We don't know for sure that he's dead," Valenti said firmly. "But I think we should all go on the assumption that we won't be able to count on any more help from him. We're on our own."

"What else is new?" Michael asked bitterly.

"What's new is that we do have each other, spaceboy," Maria said, leaning over so that she was looking him directly in the eye. "So, no more secret alien investigations, understood?" She was giving Alex the same stern look as Michael. The boys looked at each other sheepishly.

"For the record, we weren't going against the buddy rule," Alex protested weakly. "We went together to Dagmar's house."

"And if something had happened to you two out there?" Isabel asked in irritation. "None of us even knew where you were, so how could we have helped you?"

Valenti stood up. "Well, you kids had better get home now. School's tomorrow, and you need a good night's sleep." Ignoring the roll of eyes and the groans, Valenti headed towards the front door. "Tess? Kyle? Are you coming?"

"Yes, sir." Tess dragged Kyle out the door behind the sheriff. Within minutes, the others had also dispersed and gone to their homes, all promising to call Liz when they got there.

Liz stayed awake in the restaurant until she knew that everyone was home safely. If being careful was their only protection against Nicholas, then careful they would be. They'd been through too much to let Nicholas win now.

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Michael lay on his couch for hours, looking up at the stars on the ceiling and thinking. His bed was out of the question - it was too empty without Maria. No matter how hard he tired, he couldn't fall asleep. His thoughts kept going on in an endless loop - memories of Antar, dreams of Maria, thoughts of what must have happened to Dagmar. Unfortunately, those last were way too vivid and detailed in his imagination to allow him to relax. Finally, he got up with a grimace and pulled out a pad of paper. Maybe drawing would help him relax a little. So, he picked up a pencil and tried to blank out his mind, letting his fingers draw whatever they wanted with no conscious control.

Half an hour later, he looked down at what he had drawn in surprise. A little girl, maybe about four or five, was looking back at him. A girl with a big smile on her face and long hair in curls. Studying it in confusion, Michael noticed a definite resemblance to Maria. Had he drawn a younger Maria? Or was it a hope for the future, one that he wanted to have with Maria and a family?

Either way, this wasn't helping any. Setting the pad aside, he looked at his watch. It was past one o'clock in the morning, and he wasn't any closer to sleep than he had been before. Making a decision, he grabbed his jacket and ran out the door.

Before long, he was silently opening the window to Maria's bedroom and climbing in, careful to make no noise that would awaken her mother. Pausing for a minute, he looked at her sleeping form under the blankets before he took off his shoes and jacket and climbed under the covers next to her, trying very hard not to wake her.

Apparently not hard enough. Maria turned over on her side and looked at him through sleepy eyes. "What took you so long, spaceboy?" Snuggling closer to him, she went back to sleep.

Michael smiled gently as he pulled her close to him, one hand under her head, the other resting on her stomach. "Neeyal semar, teel-sharan," he whispered as he closed his eyes and was finally able to drift off to dreams of a future with his teela-mei, one filled with love and family. One that he wouldn't have to fight or kill for in order to protect.

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"Hey, watch it," Maria yelled, dodging a running freshman dashing down the hallway. "Yeah, great to be back," she muttered, yanking open her locker and looking around for a friendly face. Since Liz's early morning call had insisted that Maria wait at her locker, she thought Liz would be there, but no sign of the girl. She better show up soon. Being awakened that early, even on a schoolday, did not a happy Maria make. And it was even worse when she was awakened only to see that she was alone in the bed. No sign of Michael. Maria looked around again. Her locker was off in a distant corner of the school, and this early in the morning, nobody was around yet. Which was probably the reason Liz had picked it for the gathering place of the I-Know-An-Alien-Club.

Distracted, she dropped her History textbook. Wonderful. Wondering if she could manage to get away with skipping class the first day back, Maria bent down to pick up the book. This was not shaping up to be a good day.

And her opinion changed instantly as she felt strong hands encircle her from behind. "You weren't there when I woke up." She was impressed by how steady her voice sounded.

"I didn't think your mother would like to come in to your bedroom and see me there." Michael's whisper sent chills up and down her spine as he leaned in even closer.

"You really live in fear of her, don't you?" She refused to turn around yet. She was upset with him, after all. It was getting hard to remember why, though. When he spoke again, he was closer yet. She could feel every inch of his body along hers.

"It's the newspaper. I can't think of an effective defense against the newspaper." Slowly, one hand left her waist and trailed along her arm, ultimately reaching her hand and bringing it up and back. As he kissed her wrist at its pulse point, she weakened and turned around to look at him.

"I didn't like waking up without you. Don't do it again." She grabbed his head and pulled it down for a proper good morning kiss.

Michael returned the kiss instantly. It felt like they'd never been apart. Closing her eyes, Maria forgot about the entire school population of West Roswell High and concentrated solely on his lips and hands. She could feel herself being pushed back against the locker, but was much more interested in the way he was undoing the top two buttons of her blouse to allow room to kiss farther down. "Please, Michael," she whispered in his ear, getting a thrill from his moan in response. The next button just flew off - Michael's power control was definitely getting more precise. Grabbing the front of his shirt and wrapping her legs around him, she pulled him as close as they could be to each other while still being clothed. This day was definitely getting better.

Kyle and Tess let out identical sighs of annoyance when they walked down the hall and saw the two of them sitting on the floor, practically pawing at each other in plain sight of anyone who happened to walk by. Luckily, nobody had yet, but as it got closer to school starting, there would be more people in the hallways. Better stop the two of them.

"What is with these two?" Kyle grumbled as Tess smacked Michael on the shoulder.

"You know, this school has an eraser room for stuff like this!" Michael looked up at her blankly for a second, comprehension slowly dawning. Standing up quickly, he moved so that they couldn't see Maria clearly. When she had her shirt buttoned up again (except for that missing third button), she stood up next to him.

Kyle rolled his eyes at them. "Well, at least you two heard us this time. That's some progress."

"So, where's Liz?" Maria tried not to blush as Tess dug a safety pin out of her purse and handed it to her with an expressively raised eyebrow. I have got to get some control where Michael Guerin is concerned, she thought as she fasted the pin in the place of the missing button.

"Liz isn't here yet?" came Alex's chipper voice as he and Isabel walked up, hand in hand. "I would have expected her to be here already, clipboard in hand for check-in."

"Huh?" Michael had no idea what he'd missed.

"Your friendly cruise director, Liz Parker, called us all this morning and ordered us to meet here first thing this morning," Alex explained.

"She's probably got a little color-coded flow-chart of our daily activities planned out," added Kyle.

Maria moved closer to Michael, who reached out his arm to pull her close in an instinctive moment. Isabel noticed this and smiled at Alex. Looked like they'd been right about letting the two of them work things out for themselves.

"Didn't she call you, too?" Tess asked Michael.

Michael was spared having to explain why he wasn't at his apartment early that morning by the arrival of Liz and Max. "Morning, Maxwell. Liz."

"Good morning." Liz looked around at the group. "Good, everyone's here." She opened up a notebook and checked off their names. Alex and Kyle started to laugh.

"What, no clipboard?" Alex managed to get out between laughs.

"Do we get like, little code names and stuff?" Maria asked, joining in the giggle-fest.

"Hey, this is serious," she protested as Kyle grabbed the notebook out of her hands. "Give that back."

"Oh, Buddha. Look at this - she really does have us color-coded."

"Listen, I think the best thing we can do is to keep close track of each other."

"I agree with Liz," Max added seriously. "This way, if something does happen to one of us, or if one of us is missing, it'll take less time for us to figure out that something's wrong."

"Nothing like preparing for the worst," Tess pointed out.

"Preparing for the worst is just as important as planning for what you want," Michael interjected. "I think it's actually a good idea."

"Thank you, Michael." Liz crossed her eyes at Kyle as she grabbed her book back.

"Oh, it's a good idea, Lizzie. It's just so you, though." Maria disengaged herself from Michael and gave Liz a quick hug. "But that's what we love about you. We need someone as obsessive as you to keep us in line."

"Take it as a compliment," Max whispered to her, as Liz looked confused on how to take that.

"Now that we've all been signed in for the day, shall we actually adjourn to class?" Kyle asked, picking up Maria's forgotten History book and handing it to her.

"What's he doing here?" Maria gestured past Kyle in surprise.

Almost as one, the group turned their heads and watched as Deputy Hanson came down the almost empty hallway towards them. He smiled pleasantly as he approached, stopping in front of Isabel and tipping his hat to them all. The way that his eyes hardly left Isabel made Alex move closer. He was getting very weird vibes from the guy.

"Morning, kids." Hanson seemed totally relaxed and casual - much more so than they felt. Official authority figures were not exactly their favorite people to have idle chit-chat with. Isabel frowned at him, wondering why he kept looking at her.

"Is there a problem?" Kyle managed to smile at his father's deputy, resisting the urge to grab Tess's hand and get her away from there. He was mildly surprised by the way his instincts were screaming at him to get her as far away from the police as possible.

"Actually, yes." Hanson tore his eyes away from Isabel and looked over at the boy. Michael noticed the flicker of amusement in his eyes when they went past him on their way to Kyle. "There was a break-in here over the break. Nothing serious - mostly some graffiti on the gym walls and a few lockers were broken into. It was probably just some kids. Have any of your lockers been disturbed?"

"No," Kyle answered slowly. He looked around at the others. "Anyone notice anything wrong or missing in their lockers this morning?" They all murmured quick negatives.

"Glad to hear it. If any of you hear anything or notice anything missing later, feel free to give the station a call." He turned and smiled at Isabel. "We're here to help you, after all."

"We'll keep that in mind, Deputy." Isabel's smile was perfectly polite, if a bit cold. But Alex was standing close enough to feel the slight tremor going through her body. She wasn't enjoying the close scrutiny either.

"You do that." Looking up at the clock on the wall, he went on. "You kids had better get to class now. You don't want to be late the first day back."

"You're right. We wouldn't want that." Liz grabbed Max's hand and started off, the others trailing behind her. When they were around the corner, they stopped. Alex looked back around the corner.

"He's gone." He came over to the others, lowering his voice. There wasn't anyone around, but it couldn't hurt to be cautious. "Okay, anyone want to tell me what that was all about?"

"He wasn't just asking questions about a few lockers being broken into over the break." Tess was starting to shake nervously. "He knows something."

Kyle came up behind her, rubbing her arms quickly. Tess looked totally terrified. The idea of being caught and locked up somewhere to be experimented on was a nightmare she'd been raised in fear of her entire life. "We don't know that for sure, Tess. Maybe there really was a break-in."

"Oh, I'm sure there was a break-in." Max's voice was a mixture of anger and worry. "He'd know that you could check out his story with your father later. He wouldn't lie about that. But does anyone really think he was just wandering about the school, randomly stopping students in the hall to make sure they weren't robbed?" Nobody spoke up. He shook his head. "He would have already known which lockers were disturbed. No, he wanted something else."

"He was staring at Isabel." Maria looked at her alien friend. "Like he was at the mall the other day. Remember?"

Isabel shrugged. "Not really. Lots of guys stare at me." At their looks, she protested. "Well, they do. I don't even pay attention all the time." She frowned. It was true. Isabel was in the habit of using her looks to distract males. It was one of her protective mechanisms. She'd even tried it with Valenti and his other deputy, Deputy Owens, once. But this was different. Before she could put her feelings into words, Alex spoke up.

"He wasn't looking at you the way a guy looks at a hot girl."

"What do you mean?" Liz asked.

"Alex is right." Michael looked very upset. "That wasn't the way you look at a babe. It was the way you look at an object. Or an objective."

"I'm not sure I understand." Liz looked at Max for an explanation, which he gave after a quick look to Michael.

"It was too cold and assessing. Hanson wants something from Isabel. Or he was trying to figure out something about her."

"Wonderful. So what are you saying, exactly? That the deputy knows that I'm not from around here?" Isabel whispered angrily.

Michael shook his head. "We're not saying that. But Hanson's up to something." Michael was considering going after the deputy and seeing what he could learn, but Max seemed to know what he was thinking.

"No."

Michael turned back to his leader. "Why not?"

"Why not what?" Maria pulled on Michael's arm, but he didn't look away from Max. This wasn't a time to go back into denial mode.

"Because Kyle and Tess can go over to the sheriff's station after school today and try to find out something. They won't get nearly as much suspicion as you would." Max's voice was level and full of authority.

Michael had to admit that Max had a point. "Okay."

"Well, since you ask so nicely, Max, of course we'll go spy on the deputy," Tess interrupted a little testily. Being frightened tended to make her more irritable.

Max looked at her in surprise, then smiled. "Sorry. Tess, would you and Kyle please go find out if the deputy is planning on capturing us all?"

Before Tess could make the nasty comment he knew she was about to, Kyle jumped in. "Sure, Captain. No problem." He looked down at the tiny blond. "It's my family at risk, too."

Max nodded. That was settled. "We really had better get going."

"Let's meet out near the picnic tables for lunch," Isabel suggested as they all started walking again.

"Works for me." Alex gave a little wave as he entered the computer lab.

Max and Liz were off to Science as the others headed into English. "Let's just hope that we don't have to write one of those stupid essays on what we did over Spring Break," Isabel said quietly as they slid into their desks.

"Oh, I don't know," Michael answered as he leaned back. "It might be interesting."

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

Two very long hours later, Maria was walking down the hallway when it happened. One minute she was busily making her way down the hall, minding her own business, and the next she was grabbed around the waist and pulled into the eraser room.

"Need you," Michael growled as he pulled her in for a kiss, slamming the door shut behind her. As soon as they touched, she could feel that overpowering urge to touch him, to feel his skin and his lips on hers.

"I missed you in Science," she managed to get out between kisses.

"Are we..." his hands were wrapped tightly in her hair as he pushed her back against the corner wall, trying desperately to put together a coherent sentence, "going to try the whole conversation thing again?"

She smiled at the resigned exasperation in his voice. "Later. I had other things in mind for right now." She ran her hands up over his chest, stopping and wrapping them around his neck. Quickly, she kissed him, then leaned back. "Come here."

Smirking, he followed orders and picked her up. The kiss that followed was pure lust, a simple acknowledgment that they wanted and needed each other on a very basic level. She wondered if each kiss would always give her that jolt of energy that she was getting from him. It would be so very easy to become addicted to Michael's touch and taste. Who was she kidding? It was probably too late already.

She gave a small whimper of disappointment as he put her down and tilted his head down, searching her face. "How do you feel? Any headaches today?"

She smiled as she shook her head. "Nope. Perfect health. You?"

His thumb traced gentle circles on her cheek. "Same. No shakes or dizziness."

"Good." Lowering herself to the floor and leaning back, Maria pulled him down with her. "Now, where were we?"

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

"Is my hair all messed up?" She looked over suspiciously at Michael. "It is, isn't it? You drag me in here to make out, and now you're going to let me go back out there looking like a mess. And you lost one of my buttons this morning, spaceboy." She pointed her finger accusingly at him. "You're going to have to fix that - I like this shirt."

He rolled his eyes at her. "You look fine."

"Fine? You still have a lot to learn about girls, spaceboy." She shook her head and finished buttoning her shirt back up. "I missed Algebra."

"Are you complaining?" He leaned back with a smirk.

Laughing, she reclined next to him. "Nah. This was much more interesting than Algebra."

"We could stay longer, you know. I'm sure we could think of something else to do to pass the time."

"Hah, ha. Nope, sorry spaceboy. For anything more intense, you're going to have to wait until we're somewhere a little more private." She looked at him in confusion. "You must have missed a class, too."

"Probably." He was the picture of blissful unconcern.

"Well, as much fun as this has been, we'd better not make a habit of it." One hand went under Michael's shirt as she closed her eyes and snuggled in closer. "Some of us actually want to graduate high school."

"So do I, you know." His hand was absently rubbing up and down her leg. Even through the jeans, she was getting tingles from his touch.

"Since when?" Graduation had never really been high on Michael's list of priorities.

"Since I'll need a good job someday. I can't take care of you and a family on my Crashdown salary." It was his matter-of-fact tone that shocked her out of her pleasant daze as much as the words. She pulled back a bit.

"What?"

"What, what?" He didn't get why she sounded so surprised.

"Family? At what point did a family come into this conversation, exactly?"

He shrugged. "I just figured that someday we'd have a family." He looked at her closely, then got up and started to move away. "Never mind. You're right. It was a stupid idea."

"Hold on." She grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, kneeling next to him. She wasn't sure what, but something had just happened. She could feel it - he was starting to shut down again. She moved in to stop the stonewall before it was built up again. "It's not a stupid idea."

"Sure it is. Why would you want......." he stopped, but she took a quick breath, knowing what he'd been about to say. Would Michael ever be able to fully let go of his past?

"You just surprised me, is all. Things have been moving so fast these last few days, Michael. I mean, four days ago, we weren't even dating officially, and now you're talking about us having a family." He was avoiding her eyes, trying to pull away. "Look at me." When he did, she went on. "Okay. We said we were going to take it slow, remember? So put on the brakes for a minute. But that doesn't mean I'm against the idea of a family with you someday." She felt a big smile spread over her face at the idea. "It sounds just about perfect. Someday." She reached over and caressed his cheek, hating the haunted look she still saw in his eyes. "You'll be a wonderful father someday, Michael. I know it. There's no doubt in my mind."

He looked at her for a long minute. He was torn between wanting nothing more than to have a family with Maria and being terrified that he'd mess it up. It had nothing to do with being an alien and everything to do with being Michael. What if he turned out like Hank?

He shook his head slowly and forced a smile. "You're right."

"Aren't I always?" The mocking tone didn't quite match the watchful look in her eyes, though. She could tell he was still upset.

"Maybe in your Maria-universe." His heart wasn't really in the fight, though. He went on slowly. "I'm not sure where all this kid stuff even comes from. It's not something I ever thought about before. I don't know why, but it just keeps popping into my mind since yesterday."

Maria lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Well, it's not like it's something we have to decide about right now, is it?"

"No." He got up again, this time pulling her up with him.

"Besides," she went on as they exited the room. "I'm a 21st century Earthwoman. Maybe I'll be the one to provide for you. You can just be my kept man." She poked him in the side at his muffled snicker.

"What time is it?" Michael had the feeling they'd forgotten something.

She looked down at her watch. "Oh, no. We're late for lunch! Liz is going to kill us."

Michael grabbed her hand as they sped up. "Either that, or she's already called Valenti to report us missing."

She gave Michael a horrified look. The last thing on earth she wanted to have to do was explain to Valenti what they'd been doing for the last hour. Sensing her thoughts, Michael increased their pace even more.

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

"Why did Michael and Maria have to hog the eraser room?" Isabel complained as she and Alex tried to maneuver themselves in the very crowded quarters of the janitor's closet. They had stopped in there for a few private moments, but it was nowhere near as comfortable as the other room. She kept poking herself in the side with broom handles. Not exactly conducive to a romantic mood.

"Are you sure it was Michael and Maria?"

"Yeah. It was them, all right." Giving up, Isabel leaned close into Alex. If anything could make her forget about the smell of cleaning solutions and the uncomfortable surroundings, his kisses could.

She was right. The moment their lips touched, the rest of the world vanished. There was only the feel of Alex's body holding hers, and the sense of safety she had come to associate with him. She got a warm tingly feeling everytime they touched. It was like coming home finally after a lifetime of wandering. Two lifetimes.

As the kiss ended, she smiled up at him, reaching over to undo the top button on his shirt. "I love you, Alex."

"I love you, too." Smiling, his eyes opened wide. "Oh, I almost forgot. I got you a present."

"You got me a present?" Isabel's smile was as bright as a little kid's. "I love presents."

He laughed as he rummaged through his backpack. "I know. Where is it? Ugh - it's hiding. I just know it."

"My present is hiding from me?" She tried to peek over his shoulder to see. "I think I feel insulted."

"Nah, it's hiding from me. Why would anything hide from you?" He turned around. "Okay, here it is." With an uncertain grin, he held out a teddy bear to her. But not just any teddy bear. This was a very special teddy bear - a green one with little alien antennae and a silver spacesuit.

Isabel took it, starting to laugh. "It's adorable, Alex. But don't you think there's something just a bit disturbing about me having an alien teddy bear?"

He shrugged. "Hey, it's your alien brother who works at the UFO Center. Besides, it's Roswell." Alex put an arm around her shoulders. "I saw this little guy at Ms. DeLuca's shop and I thought of you right away. Course, I pretty much always think of you."

She smiled at him appreciatively, then took a better look and stopped smiling. "Alex, are you okay?"

"Sure. Why?"

She reached up with her free hand and turned his head to the side, peering at him carefully. "You look tired. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Uncomfortable, Alex moved back a bit, avoiding her eyes. "I'm fine. But yeah, I'm a little tired. I didn't sleep much last night. Bad dreams."

"What about?" Isabel didn't like the idea of that. Nothing should be allowed to bother Alex.

He smiled reassuringly at her, but somehow she wasn't convinced. "I don't even remember. It's nothing to worry about, Izzy. Everyone has bad dreams sometimes."

Maybe. But she still didn't like it. "Maybe I could dreamwalk you tonight. You know, to make sure that you have a pleasant dream," she added flirtatiously, moving closer. She wasn't expecting his response.

"No!" Alex yelled at her, moving back so quickly he ran into the closet wall.

She moved back in surprise, looking at him in shock. He seemed to realize how loud he'd been, and smiled apologetically. "I mean, some things should be private, Iz. You can't just go around dreamwalking people all the time. There needs to be some privacy in a relationship, don't you think?"

"I wasn't trying to violate your privacy." She sounded hurt now, and a little guilty. She knew he had a point. Max had often lectured her about her habit of recreational dreamwalking.

"I know, Izzy." Sighing, Alex came over and hugged her close. "I'm sorry I yelled. But I really don't like the idea of you coming in to my dreams when I don't know it. Okay?" He gave her a mischievous smile, and she had to smile back at the twinkle in his eyes. "That doesn't mean we can't plan dream dates. Just no unannounced visits, okay?"

"Okay." Isabel decided to just let it go for now. Hopefully, as things settled down, the nightmares would end for both of them. She loved Alex, and she had no doubts that he loved her in return. Compared to that, what were a few bad dreams?

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

"Okay, I'm calling Valenti." Liz had her cell phone out and was about to start dialing, when Max took it from her.

"Let's give them a few more minutes, okay?"

Kyle and Tess were just watching them with interest. The four of them had been sitting under one of the trees near the picnic tables for ten minutes, and Liz was starting to panic about the others.

"They could be in trouble! They could have been picked up by alien hunters, or Nicholas could have shown up, or they could be......."

"Walking across the patio right now," Tess pointed out. Liz looked up and saw Alex and Isabel coming up to them.

"Sorry we're late." Alex plopped down. Isabel sat down more gracefully.

"You're sorry? Do you have any idea of how worried we were?" Liz glared at her friend.

"I'm really sorry, Mom." Alex grinned at her. "How about if I give you my brownie? Will that make up for it?"

"This is much more serious than a brownie." Liz looked over. "Does it have nuts?"

"Here you go." He handed it to her. "We'll be prompt next time, okay?"

"Okay." It was hard for Liz to hold a grudge against Alex, especially when he brought chocolate.

"Does anyone know where Michael and Maria are?" Kyle asked. "Not that I can't guess."

"Yeah. Eraser room." Isabel took out her sandwich and relaxed a bit. It was a beautiful day, the schoolday was half over, and Alex seemed to be okay right then. She was learning to take the quiet moments when she could.

"So, you two will go over to the sheriff's station right after school?" Max was asking Kyle. Isabel tuned the two of them out, looking up at the clouds until she heard Tess.

"And here come the last two little lost lambs."

Isabel and Alex looked and saw Michael and Maria walking in their direction. They seemed to be in the middle of an argument. What a shock. Michael was shaking his head emphatically, but Maria kept pulling on his arm.

"I wonder what they're fighting about." Tess was fascinated by the never-ending list of things the two of them could disagree about.

"Whatever it is, Maria's going to win." Liz had noticed them coming over, too. Tess nodded in agreement.

"Why do you say that?" Kyle's attention had rejoined them.

"Because whatever it is, Michael's wrong." At his blank look, Tess went on. "The guy is always wrong. Right, Alex?"

Alex nodded instantly. "Oh, yeah. You didn't know that, Kyle? The first rule is, just admit you're wrong and apologize. It makes life a whole lot easier."

"And even if you don't mean a word of what you just said, that's one of the many reasons why I love you." Isabel gave him a quick kiss. Alex shot Kyle a smug look.

"I'm not going to see 'A Beautiful Mind' with you. That's it, Maria. You can pout as much as you want, but I'm not going." Michael sat down and tore into his lunch.

"Give me one good reason why not." Maria just stood there and glared down at him, tapping her foot.

"It's a chick movie."

"It's supposed to be a very good movie. Just because it doesn't have a lot of explosions doesn't make it a chick movie."

"No, it's a chick movie," Kyle added, then wished he hadn't. Note to self: learn to think before opening mouth. Getting identical glares from both Maria and Tess had him turning back to Max in a hurry. "So, what did you want us to do at the sheriff's station, exactly?"

Maria turned back to Michael. She didn't feel like arguing with him right then, so she sat down next to him and whispered a suggestion in his ear. The others couldn't hear what she said, but Michael's response was interesting. He looked up at her quickly. "Yeah? Okay, I'll think about it."

Satisfied, Maria leaned back and lay down, her head resting on his leg. She knew that she'd be able to wear him down. Michael was definitely open to bribery. She'd get to see the movie she wanted. As Maria stretched, her shirt rode up a bit to expose her stomach. Some guys walking by gave her a glance, but then quickly hurried on at Michael's look and growl. "Chill, spaceboy," she said with a little swat to his leg. He relaxed and looked down at her with an almost-smile on his face. Then he turned to Kyle and started a conversation about the proper movies to go see. No chick flicks on the list.

Isabel could almost imagine that they were just normal teen-agers hanging out at lunch time. The eight of them were talking about nice safe things like movies and classes. They'd just managed to make a plan to go see 'Lord of the Rings' that weekend when she noticed Brad Forster and some of his buddies come up.

Kyle saw Brad heading in their direction, too. He'd been friends with Brad until he was one of the guys from the football team who beat up Max. Kyle knew that they'd done it out of some confused sense of loyalty to him, but it had still pretty much ended their friendship. Especially once he started hanging out with Evans. The outside world had no idea of the complications in his quasi-friendship with Max Evans.

Isabel sighed as Brad and his little friends came up to them. Since she'd rejected Brad's invitation for a date just the week before, she didn't expect this to be a pleasant meeting. She was right.

"Valenti. Nice new friends you have." He glanced over the group with a look suggesting he smelled something bad. The three boys behind him gave mean little laughs. "And Isabel Evans? What's up? Going for the pity dates? Trying to give losers a reason to come to school?" He gave a look of pure loathing at Alex, sitting right next to Isabel?

"Loser? You're one to talk." Maria was glaring at Brad.

"I think he was talking about me, actually." Alex took Isabel's hand and smiled challengingly at Brad. "Although I prefer the term 'geek'."

"Which should be easier for you to say," Maria added helpfully. "It only has one syllable, after all. 'Loser' must have been stretching your brain capacities a bit." Tess started to giggle derisively.

"Look who's talking. What's the matter? Couldn't get anyone else but this piece of trash?" Brad gestured at Michael. "You know, DeLuca, if you want to try a real man, you should give me a call sometime." Michael started to rise, but stopped as Max gave a sharp shake of his head.

"Not a smart move, buddy." Kyle moved to defuse the situation. "Why don't you guys just go on?"

"Why? The view's so nice here?" He leered down at Maria, who narrowed her eyes, but Isabel spoke up before she had a chance.

"God, jealous much, Brad?" Isabel's voice was filled with annoyance. "Just because no girl is willing to put up with your overcompensations for your obvious inadequacies," this with a withering look of contempt, "doesn't mean that you have the right to go around attacking guys who are worth ten of you."

"Did you need help translating any of those big words?" Liz asked sweetly.

"Not to mention the fact that the term 'loser' really should be reserved for people who play football the way you do," Tess added. "You do realize you're supposed to actually catch the ball, right? Not just drop it for the other team to find?"

"I think you should leave now." Max's voice held a tone of quiet control. This, coupled with the look on Michael's face, was enough to make Brad's friends move on slowly. Brad, however, didn't seem able to take the hint. Instead, he knelt down next to Maria.

"Really, DeLuca, I'm sure you'd have more fun with me than with that guy. Why don't we give it a try sometime?"

"Get away from me," she said in disgust, moving away from him.

Brad reached over for her. His hand never got anywhere near Maria. Faster than anyone could follow, Michael's hand shot out and grabbed Brad's wrist. Brad tried to pull back, but couldn't break his grasp. Face going white from pain, he looked down at Michael and got even paler at the look he saw in his eyes.

"Max said you should leave now. And Maria told you to leave her alone." Michael spoke with deadly calm. "I agree. Do you have a problem with that?"

Brad just shook his head, and Michael released him. He stumbled backwards, finally getting to his feet and running off towards the building. The group watched his hasty retreat in silence for a minute. When he was out of sight, they all turned to Michael.

"What?" he asked indignantly. "I didn't really hurt him. Nothing broken, nothing sprained."

"Not exactly the best way to go about avoiding attention," Maria pointed out. She put her hand on his thigh comfortingly, though.

Michael just gave that bitter grimace of his. "Half the school's already afraid of me, Maria. Probably more than half. You were," he pointed out.

"I didn't know you then."

"Yeah, well, neither do they. This won't change anyone's opinions of me."

"It's over now." Max needed to make sure Michael understood that. Going after Brad wouldn't have accomplished anything a year ago, and it certainly wouldn't do any good now. Michael nodded in acceptance.

Isabel gave Alex's hand a squeeze. "Are you okay?

He blinked at her in surprise. "That was nothing. I've been called much worse by jerks like Brad. Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah. I've given up worrying about what anyone else thinks about me. And it's not like people like Brad matter to me at all." Isabel looked down at her watch. "We'd better get going. Lunch's almost over."

Slowly, they all started to gather their garbage and pack up. Noticing that Michael wasn't moving, Maria asked, "Are you coming, spaceboy?"

"No." He grabbed her hand and softly kissed her palm. "I'll see you later, though."

"Okay."

"Max?" Liz noticed that her boyfriend was staying seated as well.

"You get the lab ready. I'll be right there."

"Okay." The others walked back to the school, leaving Michael and Max alone.

"Well?" Michael asked finally.

"You're worried, aren't you?"

"About Brad and his friends?" Michael gave a genuine laugh. "Believe it or not, Maxwell, he's not high on my list of things to worry about."

Max shook his head. "You know that's not what I'm talking about." He moved closer and lowered his voice. "You've been watching the field all through lunch. What are you looking for?"

"Anything. Everything." Michael rolled his eyes at Max's exasperated look. "Fine. Nicholas. Or other Skins. Something's coming, Maxwell. We need to be on guard."

"I know. I can feel it, too." Max sighed. "Learning about our pasts was just the start, wasn't it?"

Michael nodded. "There's a storm coming, Maxwell. And we're not ready for it yet."

"That's what worries me." He paused, unsure of how to continue. "Are you okay with everything? You personally?" Before Michael could answer, he went on. "Because I don't want you to feel that you have to do anything you don't want to do. Be anything that you don't want to be. You don't have to feel that you're our protector again, Michael."

Michael gave him a long level look, remembering things he wanted to be able to forget. Max wished that he could read what Michael was thinking, but he had no clue. Finally, Michael looked away. "Yes, Maxwell. I do." With that, he got up quickly.

"Where are you going?"

Michael turned with a smile. "To the library." Then he was off.

Max shook his head as he hurried inside. Michael Guerin in the library? Things really were changing.

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

Liz was alone in the lab when Max arrived. She'd already set up the beakers and burner for the experiment. They had this period to themselves to work on their advanced project. There were some perks to being trusted honors students. They got more lee-way from their teachers.

He put down his books and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for setting everything up."

"No problem. Did you manage to talk with Michael?" She laughed at the expression on his face. "You were pretty obvious, Max. What's Michael worried about?"

"He thinks the Skins are going to attack again soon. So do I." He hated worrying her, but they'd promised no more secrets. They needed to be totally honest with each other.

Liz nodded. "They probably will. Ignoring facts doesn't make them go away. Trying that isn't very scientific." She turned from the experiment and looked him in the eye. "And what are you worried about?"

"You mean besides the old stand-by of being a king with no idea of how to protect his own family?" Max shook his head. "I'm worried about Michael."

"Why? He seems more relaxed than I've ever seen him. I think this bond with Maria is a good thing for him."

"Oh, he and Maria are fine. That's not what I'm worried about." He stopped, uncertain of how to put his fears into words. "I guess I just don't want him to have to become someone he hates in order to protect us."

Liz nodded slowly. "You're worried that he'll try to become like Tymrath again?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Liz turned back to their work, letting her hair fall down and cover her face from view. She didn't want him to see how uncomfortable thinking of their past selves always made her. "What was he like?"

"Tymrath? I don't know. Focused. Intense. Totally determined to get what he set his mind on. Hard." Then he smiled. "He was also my best friend, always. When he let himself relax, he could come up with the best idea for pranks. We had lots of fun. I trusted him totally."

Liz looked up at him. "Doesn't sound so bad."

Max shook his head again. "You don't understand. I'm not judging him - I can't. I'm the one who sent him on his missions. But Tymrath was totally relentless. Nothing could stop him. And nobody." Max's eyes had a far-away look. He was remembering that other life, one that Liz had no part of. "There was a part of him that nobody could touch. Something he kept separate from both of us." He looked back at Liz, and he was her Max again. "I just don't want Michael to feel that he had to turn himself off again like that. He's finally learning to really love and trust. I don't want him to ever be that cold again."

Liz put her hand on his cheek. "And what about you, Max? Do you ever worry that you'll go back to being like Zandar?"

Max brushed back her hair. "That's what I'm counting on you to help with. If you ever think I'm becoming too bossy and tyrannical, I need you to make me snap out of it."

"I think I can manage that. Just remember, you asked me to do it."

"It's a deal." Max kissed her slowly. He wanted every touch to last, to be savored. As long as he was with Liz, Max had faith that they'd manage to work things out. Like he'd told Isabel, they had to make it. There were too many people right here on Earth who were depending on them.

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

Finally finished with her homework essay (luckily, not on the topic of what she did over Spring Break), Isabel settled gratefully into bed and turned off the light. Within moments, she was fast asleep and dreaming.

She and Alex were dancing in the gym. She was wearing the same red dress she'd been in during the first time she dreamwalked him. It was better to actually be the Isabel in Alex's arms than the one watching, though.

He twirled her around in his arms, and when she turned back, they weren't in the gym anymore. She recognized the pink marble of the walls. They were back in the palace on Antar. Smiling, she tilted her head back for his kiss.

As always, kissing Alex was heavenly. But within a few seconds, Isabel could tell that something was wrong. Alex's grip on her arms was too tight, his fingers digging into her arms. The kiss was too hard. For a split second, something in her welcomed the fierce passion in the kiss, but then her mind kicked in. Alex would never be that harsh. She tried to break out of the embrace, finally managing to pull away and fall to the floor.

Isabel looked up at the man she'd just been kissing. His face was in shadows - she couldn't see who it was. But it was definitely not Alex. Heart racing, she tried to back away. The man kept advancing slowly, getting inexorably closer and closer. "No," she whispered. A small part of her wanted to stop and let the man catch up with her, but the louder part was warning her not to let him, whoever he was, get too close to her.

Stumbling to her feet, Isabel ran desperately away. She could hear the footsteps behind her and knew that he was following. Alex. I need to get to Alex. She frantically thought of escaping to him, the way she had the other night. She jumped out, trying to reach Alex's dream.

And ran right into a dull silver wall. Falling back to the ground, she stared blankly at the wall for an instant. She'd never seen anything like that before, but somehow it was blocking her from Alex's dream. She couldn't get in.

Isabel looked over her shoulder, and saw that the man was very close now. He was reaching out to her. Resisting the urge to turn around and run to him, she started pounding on the wall. "Alex! Alex!"

And woke up screaming his name. She looked up into the frantic eyes of her brother.

"You were screaming." Max held her close as her shaking started to slow down and finally stop. "I could hear you all the way down the hall. You kept screaming Alex's name."

Isabel pulled back, pushing her hair back as she tried to regain some composure. "I had a nightmare. There was someone chasing me. I wanted to get to Alex, but I couldn't."

"Do you know who it was chasing you?" Max helped her lean back and sat on the edge of the bed, concerned. Every other time Isabel had woken up screaming from a dream, it had been a very bad sign.

She shook her head. "No." She looked at him. "It could have just been a bad dream. I mean, we've had a lot to deal with the last week or so. Plenty to have nightmares about."

"Maybe." Neither of them sounded convinced.

"Yeah." Isabel was starting to worry that it was something more than just her subconscious trying to work things out. From the look on Max's face, she knew that he was just as worried as she was.

Something was coming.

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