When Michael and Max showed up at the museum, the place was a flood of activity. The entire group was scurrying about on the main floor with stacks and stacks of papers, calling numbers and information to each other. Max frowned when he saw Sean DeLuca in the thick of it, working shoulder to shoulder with both Liz and Cassie. Surprisingly both women were laughing at something he said and conversing with each other in a friendly manner. Max's eyes narrowed when he noticed Liz's hands going to Sean's back to move him forward so she could go around him.

Michael, standing next to his partner, noticed the direction of Max's glance and just sighed. Great. Juuuust great. Sean DeLuca, possessor of the deadly DeLuca charm, had roped together two fillies and was fast working on the rest of the city of Roswell. Max, who was a noted lady's man, having practically dated every single female in the Roswell PD with the surprising exception of the two women with Sean, was looking at major competition! Michael was glad Maria had protection by blood from Sean's lure, but also tended to find it laughable. Dammit, things were complicated enough! Did everyone have go out of their way to get themselves all entangled? Of course Michael didn't apply that to his own life, just to the rest of them around him. In truth, he just didn't want to know.

Maria looked up and saw "Detective Honey" looking at the flurry. Damn, Michael had made time! She had only called him about half an hour ago, and there he was sneering at Max, Sean, Liz, and Cassie. It was the same look he gave poor Mr. Booboo this morning when Michael found him sleeping in his shoe. The poor cat had proven unexplainably attached to Michael, and followed him all around the house despite obvious attempts on Michael's part to ignore him. Maria pointed out to Michael earlier this morning that if he was going to slip the cat food under the table and pet him, that this type of unwarranted devotion just sort of happens.

"Professor? Watcha got?" Michael left his partner scowling at the other side of the room and decided to get on with it.

"I've got an invoice, a shipping receipt and no items. We're crosschecking all the invoices, shipping receipts, and requisition forms now. It's sort of a mess; because when a new item or delivery came the same day, the same person didn’t always receive it. Whoever was present at the time the delivery arrived just signed for it, and put the invoices and materials on my desk."

Maria paused to pass more invoices over to Dianne who quickly looked up at Michael from her position on the floor with the rest. Smiling at him and his dawning expression, she quickly went back trying to organize all the receipts in some sort of fashion. The flood of horror that moved over Michael's face was priceless. He had seen Maria's offices-both of them. They were both like a bottomless abyss from which no person or object could ever return! Maria noticed the twinkling in Dianne's eyes and turned to look at Michael.

"What?"

"Your office? They just tossed all the paperwork into your office, on your desk?" Michael moaned rubbing his hand over his eyes when she nodded yes. This was going to take forever. Maria wasn't sure she appreciated his tone of voice in the least.

"There is nothing wrong with my office that...a little organization can't fix." Both Dianne and Michael looked at her in disbelief. "

"I was thinking a global thermonuclear device with a triggering switch. Dammit, Professor, we're going to be weeding through these invoices for the better part of the day!"

"I know, but Dianne already found one major missing shipment. I don't know if it was what the intruder took before killing Chris, but I think you should be interested in who requisitioned the collection for the Museum, and who signed for it." Maria handed over the small pile of forms to Michael now all neatly stapled together with a place on the top for the artifact catalogue numbers. That place was blank.

Michael quickly scanned the papers and notice the name of Professor Janhie Kovitch, who not only requested the collection, but he signed for its receipt over almost two months previously. "Professor Kovitch ordered these museum pieces." Maria and Dianne both nodded.

"When we set up the Museum, members of different departments requested certain collections be added to the museum so they could use it as a display for their teachings. Janhie's specialty was dead languages and ancient manuscripts, which crossed over with some of the History Department's curriculum. He specifically called and acquired this set of Roman armor from the Oriental Museum in Chicago."

"Okay, and it's what the murderer took."

"No. I mean...maybe." Maria saw the look of exasperation move across Michael's face. "What I mean is we, or specifically the Museum, never received the pieces. Janhie had filled out the delivery form to have it routed to his office. Look at the routing number at the bottom of the shipping invoice, it has a 0231, which is the Anthropology Department routing number, and the Museum's number is 0202. Also, Janhie signed for the it personally, so that means he received it when it arrived."

"Okay, so if the collection was never here, then it wasn't what the killer was looking for..."

"Michael, two things. First, Janhie had no real connection to the Museum work, so all materials should've come here since the Museum paid for the collections, and was responsible for their upkeep. Second, if the collection isn't here, then where is it? Maybe the reason the killer tore the place apart was because they couldn't find what they were looking for..."

"Because the Professor had it!"

"Bingo!" Dianne said from the floor. Michael squatted down next to Dianne and quickly read the description of the missing collection.

"You’re going to have to help me here, Professor. What the hell am I reading?" Michael read and reread the description and was still clueless.

Dianne took pity on him. "It's a full body armor of a Roman gladiator. Actually, technically, not a gladiator, but a Praetorian." Michael just looked at her still expressionless, no more enlightened.

Maria reached down and took the forms from Michael. "The Praetorians were a special class of guards or defenders in the Holy Roman Empire. They were essentially the toughest of the tough. Very bad boys. They were Caesar's personal guards and the strongest campaigners of the Empire."

"Actually, they were more." Dianne started to warm on the subject that was more her field than Maria's. "They were believed to hold special powers, and the earlier Empire Praetorians were considered godlike in their ability to fight, crush, and defeat their adversaries. They built the Roman Empire from Gaul to Egypt. It wasn't until the later Empire that these special guards became the Gladiators, as Rome moved to a more sedentary lifestyle and public arena fighting became the norm."

Michael nodded and looked around to see the sea of people sorting papers into stacks. "What are you doing now?"

"We're separating all the invoices into their respective groupings. All the Early Empire and Late there, Egyptian there, Peruvian..."

"I get it." Michael looked at his partner who had joined them through the explanation. "Okay. I give up. Why?"

"Because Detective, we're going to put all forms together, look at the request form for every object versus what had been received, what is still yet to arrive, and what is over in the Mail Center waiting to be delivered. We're looking for any more requests by Janhie." Maria paused to look at the busy workers quickly shuffling all the papers. "We should know by today what is missing, what was requested, and what has never arrived."

"So you want me to do what?" Michael looked at Maria and actually smiled when a look came into her eye.

"Oh Detective..." Maria noticed both Max and Dianne listening with interest and decided not to give him a list. Instead, she reached behind for a book. "I want you to find my missing collection." Maria opened the book that was a collection guide from the Oriental Institute and passed the book to Michael and Max. "I think you might be interested at the engraved emblem on the breast plate of the body armor."

Cassie, Liz and Sean had wandered over to the group and looked at the picture over Max and Michael's shoulders. "Sh-it!" Michael swore aloud when he saw his witch's engraving on the armor. It was on all four pieces, the hand piece of the sword, the gauntlet, the shield, and on the breastplate of the armor. Dru Rhiannon, the Celtic witch's symbol was engraved and bold, more than two thousand years after it was first forged.

"Okay, you win, Professor. We'll look for your collection." Michael quickly broke up his team into different units. Leaving Sean, Liz and Cassie with Maria and the Museum crew, Michael and Max were going to start searching the Professor's life trying to locate the missing armor. "How valuable is this?"

Maria looked at him. "Priceless. This is a special piece. At first I thought it was mislabeled since it was placed in the British Isles collection and not Roman. However, this armor is special, because they excavated it from a site in the Highlands in the 1950's. Dianne already e-mailed the director of the Oriental Institute to forward us all the site and armor information. Hopefully they'll do it immediately, and we should have the information sometime tomorrow." Maria looked at the Museum room, and then at Michael. "This Museum can't take the loss of this piece, Michael. It isn't ours. Museums own pieces or collections, but the rest is usually on loan from other Museums. This collection is one of those. It belongs to the Oriental Institute in Chicago. The insurance will cover some of the loss, but our Museum would have to cover the rest."

Michael nodded his understanding, and looked at the symbol one more time. "How do we find out more about this....Dru Rhiannon person, the legend?"

"I've been thinking about that, and Dianne and I talked about it this morning. I think Janhie knew. Remember last night over dinner I told you that the name sounded familiar to me? Dianne and I both agree that Janhie told us the story before, when I'm not sure." Maria looked at Dianne and gestured for her to continue.

Dianne stood up and looked at Michael and Max. "I can do a special web search in the History Database for both information about the Praetorian Guards and about your witch. It'll take a little time, but if I set up the Boolean parameters to include common crossover between the two maybe we can find your connection."

Max looked at Dianne. She was a real nice young woman in her mid-thirties and a Professor. Dianne was volunteering a large amount of personal time, and this even more than she already gave. "How long will this take? I know you must have classes tomorrow, and students to see. Can you afford all the extra time this is going to take?"

Dianne smiled at him, very big. Now wasn't he just the cutest little ol' thing! "Yeah, but if I set it up tonight, most of it should run through the national Database overnight, and the worldwide one, too if we're lucky. The biggest task is seeing how much we get back, how much doesn't apply, and what articles are available in our area. It takes some work, but it's not insurmountable."

"I could help." Everyone looked over at Cassie. "I'm sort of good with computers and stuff, and since most the cataloguing is done here..."

Michael first instinct was to say no. Keeping Cassie under watchful eyes was his first priority, but she lately had been helpful. Now she was distracted with Sean it didn't make him so uncomfortable to have her involved with his case. "Cassie, you're with Dianne." Cassie hid her face and smiled big, sneaking a look up at Sean who winked at her. This was something she could do very well.

Max looked over at Liz and decided to bring her into the conversation. "Liz how is this site shaping up?"

Liz actually slightly jumped at the question. In a group discussion Michael and Max seemed to dominate, Cassie was cautious but still chimed in her opinion, Sean just stood watching the group, closely processing the information, but she...she tended to stay in the shadows unless asked a direct question. "Good, all the artifacts are catalogued and once all the shipping receipts, invoices, and request forms are checked we should know what else is missing. So far, we found five other requests from Professor Kovitch, one that was a replica of a Stonehenge, a stone altar, a goblet, the armor, and a few books. The books are in the reference library, the armor is missing, the goblet is present and accounted for, and the stone altar believe it or not is over there..." Liz pointed to a huge unpacked crate. "It's going to be part of a large display of a Stonehenge and altar on the Highlands of Scotland. The reproduced Stonehenge is still waiting for delivery. We haven't found anything else."

Max nodded. It looked like this site was almost completely finished. "How're things at the lab without you?"

Max was surprised at the charming laugh Liz gave at the question. "Chaos! Total chaos! My lab assistant called hysterical last night, wanting to know when I was coming home!" Liz felt shocked by the call. It always seemed as if she were the most expendable person on the face of the earth, and her lab assistant gushing and pleading with her to come back to the lab was...flattering.

Michael took the opportunity to take Maria aside into her office. The room was so shocking he stood in the door for a few seconds in awe. It was spotless, utterly, utterly spotless! He could even see her desk and floor. He turned to look at her with a question in his eye. Did she morph into Susie Homemaker overnight with a deadly dustbuster?

"Liz Parker," Maria teased. Of course! Michael acknowledged that this kind of cleaning and organization had to be the handy work of the anal retentive Parker beast. "She came to retrieve all the paper work, and three hours later she emerged just as starched and clean as she walked in, with a shelf of paper in one hand, and this was the aftermath."

"Three hours?" Michael asked in awe. He would have just set a incinerating charge and walked away. Maria stood there next to him looking at the dastardly drive-by cleaning with one arm around her waist cupping the elbow of her other arm with the hand stroking her chin in thought.

"You should've seen Dianne's reaction." Michael quickly turned to her, waiting. "Good golly, Miss Molly, call the cops, you've been robbed!" Michael smiled at that. His estimation was that about half a megaton of filth, books, and papers had disappeared from Maria's office. "God, Michael, I would f-uck you into a new millennium if you'd let me keep Parker and sic her on my office over at the Anthro Department!"

Michael pulled out his cell phone to make the call. "Do you think three months would be enough?"

Maria laughed at him as he put his phone away and he pulled her into her indescribably clean office. "Dianne thinks we should bring Liz back in here in two weeks and watch her meltdown at the sight of the new piles of mess I'll create by then!" Maria moved up against Michael as he leaned back against her now clean desk. "Did you want something Detective?"

"What time am I picking you up tonight?" Maria looked at Michael confused. She was sure she told him that on Sunday nights she did dinner with Dianne followed by a movie.

"I usually leave at seven. You know I'm having dinner with Dianne and her boyfriend, Roger, right?"

Michael put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him while his other hand found its way under her hair sweep it aside so he could gently suck the skin on the side of her neck. "I know...You told me..." Maria put her hands on his shoulders to brace herself as she moved her head to the side to give him more exposed skin, moaning softly. "Is there any reason I can't come too?" Michael asked rubbing his nose in her soft hair liking the smell of sweet patchouli and lavender from her shampoo.

Maria went still. She didn't think he would want to do something so...couple oriented. It never occurred to her that he would be willing to do things with her friends or might want her to meet his. Maria closed her eyes for a moment and rested against him knowing that part of his reason to tag along with her was to keep an eye on her, but another part of her was starting to panic that he meant it in a boyfriend/girlfriend sort of way. Her world was racing out of control and this was just one thing she didn't want to have to analyze now. Perhaps it was better to just go with it, and watch what would unfold.

"Do you even realize what you are getting yourself into? It's my turn to pick the movie and restaurant, and Dianne is loud and robust in public." Maria tried to give him an out.

"I would be disappointed if she was anything, but robust..." Michael muttered against her skin rubbing his noise against her breathing in her smell. "So this Roger? How long have they been together?" Maria's eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.

"Why do you want to know?" Michael just shrugged trying to appear nonchalant about it. "Wait! You're not going to run a background search on him or something?"

"What? No!" Michael made a face at her denying that he was going to check out Dianne's boyfriend. Hell, at least not anymore!

"Hmm..." Maria still was suspicious of him. He just looked a little too innocent.

Michael scrambled to distract her. "So where are we going to dinner? And what movie?"

"Oh, well I think I'll leave that as a surprise, if you're sure you're up for this." Maria couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that Michael was going on a double date with her and her friends.

"Is your not wanting me to come have anything to do with "that time of the month" when you were planning to avoid me like the plague?" Michael smiled at Maria's laugh.

"Oh yeah, we're definitely in the crimson tide period. However, I thought we already discussed the need for me not to avoid you? Did you see me avoiding you this morning?" Maria moved her hands through his hair.

"No, you definitely did not avoid me this morning, either time. So as long as you're sure?" Maria kissed him, gently sucking his lip into her mouth and slowly pulling away.

"Oh I'm sure. If you're up to it De-tec-tive, I'm sure I can find it in myself to be willing to go along with wherever the evening leads us."

Michael kissed her liking the way she melted into him, opening her mouth to give him entrance. The softness of her mouth, the clutching of her hand at his shirtfront sent his heart pounding in his chest. "I should get back to work." Michael kissed her harder, keeping her close to him. "Find your damn missing armor..."

"You should..." She pulled his mouth back to hers. Maria felt the greedy heat of his mouth all the way down to her toes. Her heartbeat doubled, and she could feel his c-ock hardened against her. Oh God! She melted against Michael like superheated plastic, moaning her approval as she realized Michael's tongue was in her mouth, tasting her, taking her. God he was delicious! It just wasn't fair. Michael moaned deep in her throat. "Maria..."

She felt as though her nerves were on fire and she squirmed against that enticingly muscular body, wanting closer. Touching Michael's tongue with hers, she caressed it, feeling his heart start to slam against his own ribs. Those large, strong hands that Maria had always been fascinated by, that long before she even really knew him, she had fallen in lust with, slid down to cup her ass. Michael tried to regain some sanity. "Work..."

Maria whispered into his mouth, "Okay, work." Michael pulled the young supple body up against his, and Maria felt the size and hardness of him pressing against her, a deep aching need to be touched and to do the touching. Her knees went weak and her head rested on Michael's shoulder as the tall man pulled her up his body where it rested back against the desk and slanted his mouth across Maria's like a man who was starving.

When air became a pressing need, he tore his mouth away, gulping air in raw gasps, then dove back for more heated kisses, which Maria gave eagerly. Oh god! She loved the way he worked!

She clung to him, kissing him as hungrily as he kissed her back. She didn’t notice as his hands slid between them to unbutton the front of her blouse and slip his hands inside to caress first the silky skin of her rib cage, and then to move around to take the weight of her breast in his hand, and finally to rub his thumb across her aroused swollen nipple. The groan was deep and loud as she pushed up harder against him, rubbing against his erection while devouring his mouth. His other hand still on her ass, helped to move her hard against him as she groaned and wriggled in his grip, desperate to feel the warmth of his skin caressing hers, mating them. Michael held her, squeezed her, and then pulled her head up with a gasp when she suddenly bit him. They looked at each other with an intensity bordering on violent need when a voice from the door pulled them crashing back to reality.

"Michael!" Maria closed her eyes and hid against Michael's chest trying to find a way to let calming air into her lungs. Michael wasn't as easy to tame. He growled at Max who stood in the door calling his name. Slowly sanity returned, and he gave Max a small nod and watched his partner walk away.

Looking down at the small body plastered to his front and the soft skin and golden blond silky hair, his hand left her ass to comfortably stroke the lines of her back. "God! There has to be a place somewhere in this godforsaken town where we can be alone, uninterrupted!"

Maria laughed against him and finally pulled away. "Work."

Michael smiled at her and nodded. "Work." Michael stood up and tried to straighten himself quickly turning his neck to make it crack. Looking down at her, her lips red and swollen, the dark green fire in her eyes, and the intriguing glimpse of her pink tongue as she licked her lips trying to savor the taste of him. Michael moaned and tipped her head upward and leaned down to softly lick her lips for her, feeling the rush of her breath as she opened them to touch the tip of her tongue to his. That simple act sent his body racing out of control again.

"Dammit! I'm going to work." Then he crushed her mouth under his, picking up her body as her arms came around his neck tightly. "Oh wow..." He had to stop, but just one more kiss before he needed to leave, bending her head back against his arm at the pressure from his mouth. Moving them backwards towards the door, he kept kissing her, moving away and then going back. This wasn't f-ucking supposed to be happening!

Finally, she pushed him away from her, and when he would've grabbed her back, she danced out of his reach. "Dammit, Maria!" She just put her hand to hold him at bay, pointing the way out.

"Go to work. Find my armor." Michael closed his eyes for a second to get himself under control and turned to leave. "Oh! And Michael..." He looked back at her his golden brown eyes darkening. "Get Janhie's manuscripts out of his office. If he knew the story of Dru Rhiannon it will be in there." Michael nodded his understanding, and before she could elude him, snatched her back into his arms.

Bending down, he kissed her lightly. "Seven sharp."

Maria smiled watching him walk away and join Max on their way out. Dianne looked up from where she was working to see Maria leaning against the jamb of her door watching the Detective Stud Muffin take off with Pretty Boy. Taking in the full picture, Dianne swore under her breath and quickly went to hook Maria's arm and walk her back into her office.

"Hey baby girl, you might want to do something about the peek show." Maria looked at her friend in a dazed manner following Dianne's glance down. Maria swore when she saw that her shirt still unbuttoned and wide open.

"Aw sh-it!" Looking up from refastening her blouse Maria stole a look at Dianne and they both broke down into a peal of laughter.

"Coffee! I'll buy. Looks like you could use something."

Maria looked at Dianne and smirked. "What I need, you ain't buyin'. It's walking that way, and coming to dinner with us tonight."

"No sh-it! Oh man, this is so cool!"

It wasn't until lunch break that the group settled down to take a rest before breaking up into groups. Dianne and Cassie were going to go to the History Department to set up a web search, and Parker was going to the Mail Department to see if she could get Shipping deliver receipt copies.

Dianne looked over at Maria, who was frowning at a piece of brown lettuce on her sandwich as she delicately removed it from her bread. "Okay, you've been quiet enough." Maria looked at her friend. "So what the heck is going on with you and the Detective?" Maria started to open her mouth, but Dianne stopped her. "No more damn dancing around the subject, M."

Maria took a bite of her sandwich and paused, and finally shrugging looked at her friend. "I don't know. I really don't know. He's...He's just different. Really different."

"You mean he's..."

"No! I mean everything is where it's supposed to be, perfectly where's it supposed to be. Oh boy! Is it ever! And does he knows how to use it!" Maria laughed at Dianne's expression. "No, it's something else. It's like this intense electrical surge, almost like looking into a open reactor core. I can't explain it...but I just feel him all over, almost like inside me."

"Wow, so you like achieving the big o..."

Maria just snorted and gathered up her trash. "Oh yeah every time, and then some...it's like the gift that keeps giving, and giving. He's like an Energizer f-ucking bunny."

Dianne watched Maria starting to walk away, picking up her stuff she quickly followed. "Um...Maria, Hon? Does he have a brother or anything? Damn. You know, just in case Roger and me don't fly. Maria? M?"

Max and Michael headed straight for the Anthropology Department to check out the offices of Professor Kovitch and confiscate the manuscripts. Max kept sneaking glances at Michael, still feeling the heat of walking in on him with Maria. That scene, oh god! That scene burned in his brain. Hot. No way, it was nuclear! Max didn't know people actually kissed like that, not that way.

Meg the secretary, was happy to help them, and she even gave them a cup of coffee that was surprisingly not Maria's industrial sludge. They quickly arranged for all the manuscripts on the shelves to be sent to the Roswell PD, and checked the rooms. There was no armor anywhere. That meant they would have to get a court order to enter the Professor's home.

On their way back to the Police Department, Max looked over at Michael while sipping his coffee. "So what the hell is up with you and Maria?"

"Maxwell." Max ignored the warning tone of Michael's voice.

"Don't give me that Michael. This isn't your usual meet a woman, get horizontal, you start to ignore her, she desperately tries to make you care, you forget her name, and suddenly she hates you and is gone, maybe with your ice trays situation."

Michael looked outside and then at Max. "No, this isn't anything like my usual. I don't just get Maria horizontal. Hell, I take her anyway I can get her. This is different. She's different."

"Michael..."

"I just need her okay?" Max stared at Michael in shock. This was wrong, just wrong. Michael rarely admitted a weakness, not to anyone, not even himself. "And I don't need anything...but I need her."

"Oh God!" Max sipped his coffee trying to get some control over his nervous stomach. "What the hell are you going to do?"

Michael just shrugged and then casually said, "Tonight I'm going out to dinner and a movie with Maria, Dianne and her boyfriend, Roger.

Max spit his coffee out over his dash and toppled some into his lap. The car swerved under his hand before he could get control again, and the cars behind them honked menacingly, racing by them as Max pulled it over to a curve.

Michael looked at him in amazement. The perfect, anal assed, driving freak Evans just ruined his perfect diving record. "What?"

Max coughed and cleared his throat. "You! You're going on a double date. Do you realize that this is what this is? A double date?"

Michael didn't know if he appreciated that tone of sarcasm. "Yeah, tonight with Maria. What of it?"

"Michael, a double date...that means there're other people there..." Michael just shrugged, yeah so? "Michael, that means they'll expect you to participate, socialize, um...talk?"

"Jesus, Max, I'm not a social retard...talk, I can do that." Michael just turned away shaking his head at the nerve of Max. Sure, he was dysfunctional at times, but he could hold up a conversation and talk. Suddenly a wave of nervousness hit him, looking at Max in dawning horror. "Um...Max? How much talking, we talkin' about here?"

When Maria and Michael arrived at the restaurant, Dianne and Roger were already there. Michael kept looking around, taking n the cheesy decor, the touristy atmosphere and the glorious smell of burning cheeseburgers. Heaven, absolute f-ucking Heaven! He was afraid when he picked up Maria, that dinner meant some upscale restaurant with more forks than courses, leaving you the need to pocket the spare fork because you didn't use it. Instead, Maria had directed them to the tourist section of Roswell down by the UFO Center. When they had entered the CrashDown Diner, Michael was surprised to see normal looking people patronizing the place.

"Thank God, you're here. Roger was about to order the entire menu and then work his way back again." Dianne smiled at Michael, seeing his hand on Maria's waist guiding her through the sea of tables and chairs. It was hard not to gawk at the Detective as he folded his large frame into the booth. Maria started scanning a menu and passed one to Michael as well.

"Michael this is Dianne's boyfriend, Roger Callahan." Maria smiled at the man who had been dating and living with Dianne for the last eight months. Dianne had been walking past a construction site and Roger was one of the workers caterwauling at her. She turned and opened her shirt to flash them. Roger left the site to follow her and later returned to work with her name and number. He was only twenty-eight to Dianne's thirty-five, but it didn't seem to matter much to them. Roger was a nice man, great body, but not too bright. "Roger, this is Michael Guerin.

The two men nodded to each other as Michael sized Roger up. He looked okay. His DMV record showed three unpaid parking tickets and one speeding, but otherwise he was clean. Michael didn't feel too bad about checking up on Roger, because he didn't do it. He made Max run the check, just because he swore to Maria he wasn't gonna do it.

"Okay, this place is a greasy spoon emporium, Maria. Why'd ya pick it?" Dianne looked around thinking the alien theme was somewhat sweet. Usually Maria chose something more exclusive or exotic like Thai, Tandoori, or raw like sushi.

"This is Liz Parker's parent's family business. She lives upstairs. I wanted to see it, so she gave me directions." Maria read her menu and pointed to an item for Michael. Roger was reading down a list of possible items he could consume with little to no problem. Michael was impressed and started to get into the evening. He could eat.

It wasn't as bad as Max made it out to be. Dianne was a total hoot, and between her and Maria, the entire dinner was amusing and lively. They argued over football scores, hockey placements, politics, and gossiped over co-workers telling each other their woes. Michael smirked at how they drew poor Roger into the conversation both teasing him shamelessly. The subject turned to Maria and Dianne's favorite pastime, Gerald Tiny and his deflated member.

"You think he dresses left or right?" Dianne asked Maria.

Maria just gave a delicate shudder, not really wanting to think too hard about which trouser leg Gerald Tiny carried his one-eyed trouser-trout down. Geez, only Dianne would want to know! "No clue, but maybe he doesn't have to chose? Maybe it's small enough to just hang in the center." Maria had watched Michael dress a few times and he was definitely a right-handed man. Suddenly a thought occurred to Maria. "I've been meaning to ask...how did you know about the size of Gerald's endowment. Is it written on the wall somewhere?"

Dianne quickly changed the subject ignoring the glint of amusement in Maria's eyes. Damn Anthropology people always with their questions! Dianne looked up and caught Michael's eyes, seeing a look of awareness and amusement in them. He just smiled and said, "To the right."

Dianne kept quizzing him about his possible siblings, and didn't mother bring home anyone like him, maybe a brother. Maria whispered in his ear, telling him what Dianne's interest was, and it made him almost lose his alien blast all over the place. The sight of Dianne's heartcrushed face when he informed her that he was an only child, a one of a kind, was classic.

Roger seemed to like talking about his bowling tournament and friends, but Michael had to confess to preferring pool to bowling. The two men ate their body weight in food and Michael liked the way Maria ate off his plate, stealing a Saturn Ring occasionally as she talked with her hands. What he liked most was the way her hand kept coming back to rest on his thigh stroking the length of it.

The only strange moment of the night was while he was eating they were all staring at him. Raising a brow in inquiry Roger pointed to the two bottles of Tabasco Michael had emptied on his food, and in his drink.

"A little food with your Tabasco, Michael?" Michael almost felt uncomfortable until Maria came to his rescue.

"That is a new one for me. You should see my cousin Sean. The man eats ketchup on everything, and I mean everything. Ever see anyone dip their potato chips into a plate of ketchup." Maria turned and looked at him with a twinkle in her eye. "Guess all the Tabasco means you like things hot, huh, Michael?"

Michael laughed at her double meaning and noticing the others catching it too. "My favorite is donuts." Maria nodded her head understanding perfectly...Pig food. "Donuts with lots of Tabasco...love it sweet and spicy." Michael reached over and sucked one of Maria's fingers into his mouth. "You're perfect without any added condiments."

Maria just kept watching him with her big clear darkened green eyes. Oh boy! He was good! She could feel the heat all over her body. Maybe she was inflating his ego too much along with other parts of his anatomy. However, not wanting to be a complainer, Maria decided to deal with it "all" stoically.

Maria decided the movie. She picked the local theatre close to the CrashDown that was showing a B-quality low class sci-fi thriller with invading aliens. They walked to the movie from the CrashDown. Michael kept Maria close under his arm.

"Why this movie? You a bad sci-fi buff or something?" Maria just laughed.

"No. However, it's Sunday night. Last show of the night, and they just put in stadium seating. So not only will the place be dark, comfortable, but more than likely empty." Michael looked at her.

"What, you don't like people watching you watch a movie?"

Maria stopped for a second and pulled him into a long sucking kiss. "De-tec-tive, I've got no intention of watching the movie."

She pulled away from him and grabbed his hand to rush up to the others. Michael allowed himself to be led by her. He couldn't describe it. He was feeling things he never thought about or expected. Michael felt young, alive, and almost lighthearted! Crazy. A little over two years ago, he was living on the streets, praying for death.

They stopped for buttered popcorn and drinks. Michael watched as Maria asked for extra butter, and two boxes of milk duds. When they walked into the theatre Maria looked up at the top row of seats and pulled Michael up to the top right seats. Dianne and Roger stayed down below. Dianne explained that Roger forgot his glasses that he needed to watch movies, so they needed to be closer to the screen.

Maria set them up with their coats in the corner, using them as a pillow, and lying down on her side she motioned for him to slide in front of her. All the armrests of other seats were up. Maria was right. There was hardly anyone there but them. She grabbed the boxes of milk duds and poured them into the bucket of buttered popcorn, letting Michael place their drinks on the floor in front of them. Michael was actually very comfortable lying on his side with Maria spooned up to his back behind him, her arm resting around his waist, to reach for popcorn and milk duds. He smiled at the way her chin rested on his shoulder and the way she moved her head to nuzzle into his neck.

When the lights went down and the movie started Maria slid her hand down his body, touching him, moving her hand over the hard bulge in front of his jeans and stroking him. Michael's breath faltered in his throat when her mouth found the back of his neck and sucked on the skin. He just closed his eyes and leaned back into her enjoying the sensation of her hands and mouth on his body.

It was the movement of her hand under his waistband of his jeans, grasping his throbbing erection and stroking it slowly, that had Michael unbuttoning his jeans to give her more room. She heard Michael moan, the sound muffled as he tried to stifle the sounds. "Good," Maria whispered in his ear, pulling the lobe into her mouth. "So good. Let me hear you!" She wanted him to let her hear so that there would be no doubt at all how her touch affected him, what he wanted and how he wanted her to touch him. Maria should've worried about how much she wanted to touch him publicly and privately all the time, but she was distracted- sort of busy.

She felt a certain degree of satisfaction and lust flare through her body as she saw Michael's eyes widen in shock when she took him firmly in hand after he unbuttoned his jeans. Maria gave Michael's c-ock several more firm strokes, causing Michael to look down his body to see how Maria palmed him in her hand. He was unable to stop himself from pushing himself harder into her hand. He swiftly rolled over onto his back, yanking Maria on top of him with her legs straddling his thigh. He knew in the dark that no one could see them...that they would be nothing more than a shadow looming in the dark. He could see her face clearly...could see those beautiful eyes wide with surprise and an equal amount of desire and passion.

However, if Michael was going to stifle his moans and try to swallow them, Maria preferred it would be into her own mouth. She kissed him, hard, demanding, thrusting her tongue between those incredible lips to drink deeply and pull him inside. Michael responded in kind, his whole body arching up in need, as he met Maria's kiss with desperation of his own. And this time when Michael moaned it vibrated through her whole body, setting her on fire!

Maria removed her hand from him at his protest hushing him with her mouth as she shoved herself upright to remove her top. She had been wearing a loose lace blouse with nothing underneath. Placing it over his head, she watched him staring at her as her hands unbuttoned his shirt so she could merge her skin to his. Skin against skin, her hand moved back down his body to take his c-ock back in hand feeling its silky skin sliding wonderfully against her hand. She thrust against his hard thigh loving the hard purchase, drinking in another desperate moan. Michael's arms were around her, clutching her hips, pressing her into his hard muscles. Maria arched against that delicious pressure, and then thrust down again, groaning herself as his hardened nipples brushed against her sensitive skin and breasts. She kissed him possessively, hungrily, devouring his mouth and all he had to give.

"Maria..."

"Shush, watch the movie." Michael laughed at that. There was a movie?

"You're going to get me arrested aren't you?" Michael asked suddenly suspicious that all those arrests in her past weren't just her mother's doing. The arrest at the house of "ill repute" was still holding him fascinated.

"Big baby! Jim will bail us out." Maria said laughingly loving the look of him under her, all laid out.

Maria knew that both of their lips would be kiss-swollen by the end of the movie...so beautiful. Michael looked so sexy and wanton writhing beneath her, skin flushed with passion, eyes glazed with hunger. He no longer attempted to stifle his gasps and moans of pleasure...too far beyond thought to worry about anyone else, let alone other moviegoers.

Maria suddenly became quieter as she looked at him, slowly stroking his body, touching him delicately with just the pads of her finger, running down and over his chest circling his taunt nipple before reaching over to touch her tongue to him before pulling it in her mouth. Michael just lay back and let her go and do what she wanted. She had touched him often enough, but this time was different. He couldn't explain it. It wasn't just about sex. It felt like reverence or veneration. No one had ever really worshipped his body before. His breath caught in his throat at the intensity of her glance, the darkness of her eyes, and he just knew she was feeling him, all of him, both physically and mentally.

When her mouth moved down his body and tentatively touched her mouth to his c-ock, he stiffened. His heart stopped in his chest, and then just as quickly took off racing a hundred miles an hour. The very blood boiled in his veins as his narrowed eyes watched her mouth move over him, taking him inside. The heat was almost too much for Michael, for a few seconds he actually forgot to breathe, and when he did, it came from him in panting gasps. Maybe he didn't know where they were going with this, but watching her work his body, he just didn't care as long as it lasted a long time!

Maria loved the taste of him on her tongue, the silky pull of his skin along her taste buds. He was like an explosion of flavor ranging from saltiness with a slight tinge of bitterness. Taking a deep breath, she pulled even more of him inside, but he was more than just a mouthful, so her hand continued to work him, loving the feel of his body tightening up closer to her mouth. The movement of his hands down her back moving over her skin and then upward again as he buried his hands in her hair, holding her head still while he moved his hips to thrust into her. He was surprisingly gentle and she liked the way he whispered her name on the outward push of breath from his body.

It was easier to take him if she just closed her eyes and relaxed, letting herself just feel him, enjoy the feel of blood rushing under his skin beneath her tongue. At the first sputtering of his release she held it in her mouth, letting it move around her tongue to really completely taste him, then relaxing her throat, she pulled him even deeper into her throat as the full flood was forced from him, his hands tightening in her hair as he groaned her name aloud.

Even after he was spent and not even a trickle continued, she still held him in her mouth. Moving her hands up his body feeling the rapid movement of his ribcage as he tried to find some control, Maria finally released him and moved up his body to lick the salty skin of his stomach. Reaching a hand into her hair, she removed one of his hands and joined their fingers together moving their combined hands above and over his head, as she moved further up his body to lay on him, fully stretched out.

For a few moments she lay staring at him, loving the darkened brown of his eyes, the passion and lust, and that hard glint of mischief. Smiling, she reached down to take him into her mouth, to kiss him and share his taste. His tongue had already left his mouth reaching for her. After a few moments, Michael lifted his body upward into a more sitting stance and pulled her along his body devouring her mouth. When they finally stopped and pulled apart, they sat there sharing a moment of calm.

Michael left one leg bent at the knee against the seat back and pulled himself back to sit against their coats, grabbing her blouse and putting her back into it, but leaving it open at the front. His other leg went over the side of the seat to sit on the floor leaving his lounging back, and he turned Maria to sit in the junction of his legs. She reached down for a glass of soda, drinking it, and quickly gulping the liquid when she tasted the Tabasco realizing it was Michael's drink and passing it to him. Michael took the drink and easily finished half of it, not having realized how thirsty he had been before.

Maria rested back against him with the large bucket of buttered popcorn in her lap with milk duds. Eating it, she smiled as his hands came around her, one to settle at her waist, the other moving up to cup a breast. He was rubbing his face in her neck.

"You swallowed!"

Maria laughed at that and popped some more popcorn in her mouth munching away. "Delicious!" Michael's laughter in her hair made her laugh even more, and they both continued to laugh when an angry hushing sound came from somewhere in the dark below them.

Maria finally put the popcorn away and turned in his arms to wrap an arm around his neck. Moving her other hand up his bare chest, she looked at him, moving over his features almost as if she was mapping them for all time. Michael pulled her to him and kissed her slowly, with gentle care. Sinking back down to lie on the seat, he pulled her entire body over his and ran his hands down her naked back under her opened shirt, past her waistband of her loose jeans to grip her ass hard, pulling her into his lower body. He was surprised to realize she was wearing nothing under her jeans, and her skin was soft and silky, sending shockwaves up his arms.

All the fantasies he had had in his youth about necking and making out in a darkened movie theatre were being realized. However, the reality was much more intense, hotter than any of his previous vanilla fantasies could have imagined! The sensation of her skin against his, her tongue mating with his as she softly muttered his name into his mouth was well worth the price of a movie ticket, some drinks, popcorn, and hell, she could have all the milk duds she wanted! The taste of the chocolate caramel in her mouth with the buttery popcorn was a completely new sensory overload.

When the movie was over, they barely got their clothes back together, and collecting their garbage, they went to rejoin Dianne and Roger. Dianne took one look at their disheveled clothing, messed up hair, Michael's shirt buttoned wrong with one side tucked in and the other not, and both of their lips puffy and red from kissing and she smiled. Roger seemed oblivious. He turned and asked Michael how he liked the movie.

"Great! Loved it." Maria pinched his side hiding a smile and exchanging a look with Dianne.

"Yeah, it was awesome. So what was your favorite part?"

Michael froze for a second. What the hell did Maria say the damn movie was supposed to be about? He could hear the soft snickering coming from the golden blond hair under his arm. "Um...the aliens in space part?"

Both Dianne and Maria lost it in a peal of laughter. Before Roger could point out that the entire story was about aliens in space, Michael's eyes met Maria's and he joined in the laughter. God! The things she made him do!

They stopped at Michael's apartment after the movie. Michael opened the door, forgetting how long it had been since he had been there last. After living in Maria's home for the last few days, his place looked even emptier than before.

Michael parked Maria in the middle of the room and told her not to move. Rushing around his bedroom, he found his dress blues and a few more things he needed, and his dress shoes. Grabbing a small bag for a few items and a novel he was in the middle of reading, he went out to find that she hadn't obeyed.

Maria was flipping through his CD's and playing with his stereo. Looking over her shoulder at him, she smiled. "I love this system. It’s so streamlined, with great sound quality. I see you're a Metallica fan. Some of your choices are great! We have overlap." Michael watched as she put on the headphones and started humming. Going to his refrigerator, he grabbed two beers, turned the lights down lower and came up behind her to switch the sound from headphones to full stereo. Michael removed the headphones to move her back to his sofa and sat down with her next to him.

Michael watched her drink her beer listening to the music. Seeing her in his home, watching her move around in the space of his nearly empty life, suddenly that life seemed fuller, better.

"Maria? Do you need ice trays?" Maria looked at him in confusion, wondering where that question came from.

"No. You know that metal thing in my kitchen in the corner by the door leading into the garage. Do you know what I'm talking about, right?" She waited for him to nod. "It's a large ice marker. I hate not having enough ice. So, I think I've got the ice thing covered." Sometimes he was just to enigmatical for words.

"Good."

"What you smiling at?" Maria asked without looking over at him.

"I'm not smiling." Maria just snorted and then laughed as she took another draw of her beer. "So what did we stop for?"

Michael took a drink and then started peeling the label off his bottle. "My dress blues. I need them tomorrow." Maria's look of interest made him continue. "Tomorrow we bury the rookie officer killed in the line of duty the other night. Jim Wilson."

Maria was silent for a moment, remembering how upset Michael was the first time he came to her. Feeling his body racked in pain and holding him close, that was when she first started feeling him, and when they woke up that morning and made love, it was as if so much information rushed through her, that it overwhelmed her senses. She could still feel his sorrow; still see how upset he was over losing even one man.

"Do you need me?" She asked it so quietly he almost didn't hear it. Yes, dammit, he did! He wanted her next to him as he watched a young life wasted, be laid to rest. But he couldn't ask. She was unbalancing him too much. Even in the movie theatre, she turned him to mush. If she stood at his side tomorrow, holding his hand while he tried to break his own jaw with the tension, he didn't know how he would ever be able to divorce her from his life. Nothing lasted forever, and every day, minute-by-minute he was fast running up against a wall that told him he wasn't going to survive Maria DeLuca.

Wanting to say yes, Michael just shook his head no. "I'll be fine. It's early in the morning, so it'll be over fast." Maria just leaned against him and worried about how much his silence and isolation cost him. Part of her sensed that he held himself apart, protecting himself from people and pain. She couldn't understand why he never tried to hold back or move away from her.

"Okay." Maria turned to sit up next to him on her knees. "But if you need me, you've got my number, right Detective?"

"Yeah, I've got your number, Professor." Maria face became very serious and her eyes searched his face until finally she leaned in to take his mouth in a soft kiss.

"So what's your bed look like?" Michael laughed, putting away both their empty beers, feeling the rush of fire he usually felt when he drank. He picked her up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom to let her try out his bed. "I've been meaning to ask you...do you ever get lightheaded or dizzy with all your blood pooling in that part of your body...I mean, it's not hardly small!" Maria asked with a straight face. Michael just laughed at the question. "No, really! I'm serious!"

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