“Professor.” Ken was startled to see Jonathan Stiller leaning against the wall outside Maria’s door.

“Mr. Stiller.” Ken made a move to continue past the man, but Jonathan surprised him.

“I have a request to make of you.” Ken stopped short. “I’ll let the board come to an open vote on your appointment Sunday during the quarterly meeting. It’s a luncheon meeting, and we always meet on a Sunday since this is on a volunteer basis and most of us have active lives during the normal week. They’ll hear all sides of the argument and I’ll invite you to give open argument and persuasion, if...”

“If?”

“If you don’t involve Maria DeLuca in the proceedings. She’s hardly in a condition to be put under stress, and her position at the University makes the result difficult for her working relationship with you. I would rather leave her out of the negotiations at this time.”

“Well, I looked at the voting blocks. You were right. Professor DeLuca doesn’t vote her block. You do. And the combination of the two largest blocks puts you in a position of autonomous power. Maria holds the last three percent swing votes that have remained unused in over five years since the Foundation’s inception. So unless I get Maria involved, and she takes her block of votes back into hand, I’m looking at a no-win situation.”

“So what are you saying, Professor? That this appointment is worth involving a woman who is sick and who almost lost her baby, just so you can hold a seat on a Foundation that will never alter its position or statement? There is no power to be had in that.”

“Yes, if the need arises. Which I think it has.”

“Fine. I offer you a compromise, and I suggest you take me up on it or I will counsel Maria to take her votes, but let Guerin vote them in her place since she is too sick to do it herself. Doing it that way will give her a buffer against having to actually vote against you.”

Ken hadn't thought of that. Of course Maria might feel compromised by her working relationship with him and pass her votes over to Guerin, her future husband, to vote in her place. Guerin would immediately vote him out and nothing would be gained.

“What is your compromise?”

Jonathan smiled a self-serving smile, lacking in either warmth or humor. “I’ll turn over her block of votes to a non-board member, but a noted member of the community with a history of community involvement. That member can act as an impartial proxy, and will hear the argument for the first time on Sunday at noon.” Jonathan gave the man a dark deadly look that made the sweat bead on his forehead. “I suggest that you take this offer, because if you involve her in this fight I’ll use every weapon in my arsenal to not only make sure you never hold a seat on the Foundation, but I will actively campaign for the replacement of your position as Head of the Department of Anthropology.”

“Why are you doing this? What is so special about Maria DeLuca to make you protect her so fiercely?” Ken felt real fear for the first time. He was standing on the edge of losing both his treasured position at the University and the other position he really wanted. It was his deserved right to hold these positions. He had worked hard all his life and done everything right. This man, this one man with his position and power, stood in the way of his life.

“She is more special than you can imagine, but regardless of whether she is special or not, she is my friend. And for me...that is enough.”

“I agree to your terms. How do you plan to find this impartial community paragon?”

“I’ll have my secretary contact all the charitable organizations in Roswell and ask for a list of their largest benefactors. The one person on all lists, or the most prominently active one will be asked to do this. If they cannot, I’ll go to the next person, and so on.”

“Agreed.” Ken started to leave without shaking Jonathan's hand.

“Professor. My secretary will contact you tomorrow with information for the meeting.” Ken just nodded and left. He hated the man.

Jonathan watched him leave with taciturn eyes, and it was the laughter from Maria’s room that drew his attention. She had to be protected at any cost. Taking out his phone, he made the calls. Maria DeLuca’s unborn child was what was important.

Jonathan watched as the Bug Guys left before entering the room. “You too tired for another visitor?”

Maria smiled at her friend. “I wondered where you went.”

“I wanted a word with Professor Price.”

Maria took in his stony look, the dark seething anger beneath the surface. Strange, Jonathan was a man that rarely let anyone shake him or his control. He was a model of perfection in both looks and manner.

“Was it bad?”

“About the same, but you’ll not be needing to worry about it. I made a compromise, and as of now you’re no longer going to be bothered.”

“Jonathan, what did you do?”

He just leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, and then lightly laid his hand on her stomach before sitting down. “Don’t worry about it. It’s taken care of, and all I want you to worry about is your baby.”

Maria knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Thank you.”

Jonathan smiled. “You know I love you most of anyone in the world--well except for my tailor. But dammit, a good tailor is hard to find in this day and age.”

“The flattery just roles off your tongue, my smooth friend.” Maria plucked at her covers. “How much will this cost you?”

“Me? A mere irritation factor, but otherwise nothing.” Jonathan sat back and looked at her. “Remember when we first became friends?” She nodded. “I remember how...broken you were then. How silent.”

“That was a long time ago. I’m stronger now.”

“I know. But you made me believe. Over these last years, you made me believe that there is a uniqueness in the human spirit, one worth cultivating.”

“What is that?”

“Sheer stubbornness.” Maria laughed in delight. Oh she had that indeed, in spades. But then so did he. “I want this baby for you. It’s like a reward for all that you are. I’ll do anything to make sure that you and the grumpy Detective get this. It’s important to me. I don’t have many close personal friends, and I consider you one of my best.”

Maria felt the prickling of tears behind her eyes. “Thank you, again.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t seen the present I brought you.”

“I got the flowers.” Maria gestured to the arrangement she kept, but he just shrugged it off. That was just common courtesy, but this was the gold, baby.

Handing Maria a box he had brought in with him, she slowly opened it and her gasp of admiration and desire shocked him. Then it amused him.

“Christie’s triple chocolate éclair funnel cake with extra whipped cream surrounded in laced raspberry syrup.” Maria couldn’t think of anything else to say, but stare at the sugary confection. In the world of chocolate orgasmic delight, this was a ten on the Richter scale. “Oh! Jonathan, it’s still warm!”

He just calmly held out a fork and keeping one in his hand for himself. The yummy sounds she made while eating made him laugh in delight. He never thought he would find a gluttonous gourmet soulmate and friend such as the one he had found in the small form and body of Maria DeLuca. It was nice to have someone to share some of the nicer things this world had to offer with such an open joy, almost simplistic in its childlike manner.

“So, you going to tell me about this kissing thing you have going on with my Max?”

Jonathan just laughed as he ate another bite. “Oh it’s delicious!”

Maria stopped chewing for a second and asked, “The cake, or Max?”

“Both equally.” Maria couldn’t let that pass, as she began a nice leisurely round of twenty questions.

~~~

Michael, Sean, Max and Hanson went to the location that Marco gave Michael. It was a deserted area just on the outskirts of Roswell in an old lime and chalk quarry just off the main highway. The access road was well traveled and beaten down by the ages.

Michael and Sean walked the field while Max and Hanson watched from a high location, uncertain what the two men where looking for. Sean wasn’t moving very fast, and his breathing was shockingly rough. Max watched as Michael gazed at the location and searched the surrounding area, almost like he was expecting something. Slowly the men circled a large area encompassing almost three quarters of an acre in a rough circle.

“Should I be out there? Looking, I mean?” Hanson asked timidly. Max just shook his head no. He couldn’t explain it, but he didn’t want to touch the area Michael was slowly mapping out, and he kept Hanson off too. It was like trying to stop a sacred ground from being desecrated, defiled. “What are they looking for exactly?”

“Lost ones.” Max looked at the man and sighed. “Just watch, Hanson. Watch and try to learn something.

“Michael?” Sean could feel it and smell it. Closing his eyes he could almost feel the blood seeping up from the ground to pool at his feet. It felt...hushed, like the ground silenced its captive ones and held them bound. Michael simply took out his cell phone and called in the location, requesting full service CSI and forensics with extra employing units to close the area. “Michael?”

Michael's voice was too soft, almost too low for Sean to hear. “Not now, Sean. I can’t...” He walked up the embankment with Sean following slowly and carefully. Max looked at Sean, but Sean just gestured no.

It was the Killing Field, but it held all the markings of a slaughtering mass grave with the very smell of death clinging to the earth, and the air was permeated with the stench of decay working back into the rich soil.

~~~

“Alex?”

Alex looked up from where he sat in a booth drinking his breakfast in the form of straight malt liquor, and distractedly did paperwork on his club. He just nodded to Freddie, but remained silent. Jimmy was back from vacation, but Alex was still doing work at the club. His manager had a huge mess to clear away, restocking of essentials that Alex had let slide, and the man and his accountant were still trying to balance the books.

“What?”

Freddie went closer to Alex and frowned. The man was walking on the edge. The barely restrained violence was almost tangible. “The Cops, they’re onto something big. They’re moving massive amounts of equipment and manpower into the old back quarry.”

“The Dump. He found it.” Alex stood up and moved all his paper work to the side, leaving it where it sat.

“You can’t go out there. They’ll close off the area to keep people off the scene.”

“They won’t keep me out. Tell Jimmy to finish here and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Alex, why go? What purpose can it serve?” Freddie didn’t finish the sentence. What could it serve but to hurt him more, cut him deeper?

“I’ve got missing innocents out there. Taken. Taken from my place. They’re mine and I’ve got to know. I need to see.” Alex left the club without a second look. He needed to see if it was as horrible as he dreamt it was.

~~~

Michael felt him before he knew he was there. CSI was searching the field that Michael had indicated, the one that he and Sean marked off.

“Hanson, go down to the access entry. Tell them to let Whitman through.” Michael didn’t remove his eyes from the scene of small test pits being dug. “And Hanson?” Hanson looked at Michael again. “Don’t be a fool and touch him. You step back and leave him be. Just let him in.”

Simon climbed up the small embankment to Michael, Sean and Max. “Michael, are you sure on the limits?”

Michael just nodded. “It felt close to the surface. Has to be less than a foot deep in cover.”

“About six inches. The closure backfill is too light. This site was overly saturated. A good rain would have opened exposures.” Simon looked over the range. This was not good. “I’ve got meat wagons and body bags. We’ll move to the larger PD warehouse to spread out the remains like we did for the plane that crashed a few years back.” Simon couldn’t understand it, but all the test pits that were done outside the area Michael and Sean marked were free of remains. It was impossible to understand how they knew where it started and ended. “How did you know, Michael? How did you know where to stop?”

“There weren't any more crunching bones beneath my feet. The ground swells and then sinks as your weight compacts the earth. This place was too packed with fresh kills, and time hadn’t settled the upper graves. The ground still has a spring to it, and the smell escapes through the porous soil.”

Simon was sorry he asked. He couldn’t feel it, except to say that he sensed a wrongness to the ground and a need for silence. “We’re going to start taking down the space now that the perimeters are defined.” Michael just nodded as Sean lit a cigarette next to him. Michael calmly reached out and took the cigarette from Sean’s mouth and tossed it on the ground grinding it in the soil.

“No smoking. Not until your damn breathing doesn’t sound like a frickin’ freight train.” Sean just cussed at the destruction, the waste. It was the only one he had bummed. “Whitman.” Michael didn’t even turn to see Alex.

Max stayed at the command module talking on the phone, when Kyle finally showed up. He looked for his partner, and found him, Sean and Alex above the killing field on the highest point on the surrounding hills. They were all silent.

“Kyle, is everything taken care of for transport?”

Kyle followed Max’s glance and frowned at his partner and the others. What were they doing? “Yeah. I secured the warehouse. Large tables were being brought in, and Parker and her crew where already setting up a lab area with forensics. They're sorting the Missings we have listed with identifiable marks and Parker is ready to start testing for DNA remains.”

“Thanks for getting that done, Kyle.”

“How many so far, Max?” Kyle asked quietly.

Max just shook his head. “I lost count after the sixtieth body bag came out. All the remaining lower levels are like a hodgepodge of bones, overlapping each other. They're going to excavate them out in a grid method, section by section, and then try to match the site in the lab.”

“God.” Kyle looked over the field and watched Hanson help cart boxes up from the mass grave. They continued to help the remains be pulled from the site for over four hours until all that was left was digging. It started drizzling lightly three hours into it, and finally it was coming up to almost two in the afternoon when Simon walked out of the field, tired, wet and covered in mud.

“I think we found all we’re going to. Normally we would have taken the time to slowly excavate and take the site with greater care, but this is just a dumping site. There’s no information to be had here, just death.”

“How many, Simon?” Max asked quietly not knowing if he wanted to know.

“Rough estimation, about one hundred thirty--maybe more. We started counting skulls.” Simon turned to look at the three lone men high up an embankment watching in silence. They had stood there unmoving for hours, just watching. Simon grabbed one of his men with a camera. “Take their pictures.” He nodded towards Sean, Michael and Alex.

Max looked at them too. They stood there in the light rain. Sean was crouched low to the ground at Michael’s feet, and he held the palm of his hand just barely touching the ground as if he could feel the heat rising and his head was bowed. Michael stood in the middle, tall and straight, observing the field unblinking and silent. Whitman stood at Michael’s other side, slightly back with his hands clenched to his sides. His face was turned up to the rain with eyes closed almost as if he was trying to get clean.

“Max, call your partner.” Max started towards the others, to start the slight climb to them. Simon, hooked an arm in Max’s and dragged him back. “No, just clearly call his name.” Max looked at the man in confusion. Michael was too far away. “Just call him. He’ll hear.”

Max just shrugged. “Michael.” He felt a fool as his voice rang out crisp and clear. Kyle was smirking next to him, but then his face went blank in disbelief.

Michael suddenly turned as did the other two, and the three men slowly descended. Max turned to Simon in confusion.

“How...?”

“I don’t know. I just know that when he’s on a crime scene, it’s as if all his senses are busy processing, thinking, gathering and collecting information. I just assumed that he was listening as well.”

Simon almost took a step back when Michael and the others joined them. Michael’s eyes were dark and deep, and the rich golden brown seemed to spark of energy and anger. Simon wasn’t surprised to see the clenching muscles in the man’s jaw, but the trembling hands were unexpected.

“Simon, you done with the site?”

“Most of the main bodies have been transported. The remaining bones are being gathered now.” Simon didn’t want to have to say it, but it was something he couldn’t avoid. “Michael, at best guess, this site has to be at the very least five years old.”

“We only pulled records for the past few.”

“I know. Your team needs to pull for at least five, maybe seven.”

Sean just cussed under his breath and searched his clothes for a smoke. F-uckin’ Guerin ruined his only one. Alex handed the man a cigarette and gave him his to light it.

Simon looked at Michael. They had worked many scenes over the year, but this man was a stranger to him. “What is it, Michael?”

Michael just shook his head to clear it. “I'm just thinking I dreamt a place of death like this before.” He didn’t notice the startled searching look from Alex or the nod from Sean. They all had. Death had many faces and was always finding new ways to walk among the living, but one thing remained true--death was death, and from birth to grave there was no escape.

“Valenti’s out of office today getting ready for his wedding and honeymoon. I can call and see what the replacement Cap wants done with the site.” Simon placed the responsibility on Michael’s shoulders, he was the senior detective on site.

“When you’re done and everything is scraped clean, I want this site sterilized. Tell your men to salt the earth, cover it over in lime and then bury it.”

“Michael.” Simon didn’t know what to say to that order.

“Just do it! This place is diseased. Salt the earth.” Michael walked away, the other followed. Michael reached out and snatched the cigarette from Sean’s mouth again and angrily tossed it to the ground. “No smoking!”

~~~

Maria was resting, waiting for Michael to come spring her from the hospital. She hadn’t heard from him since he left that morning, and Maria was feeling the need to take a long nap. The tiredness was better, and her morning sickness had been manageable that morning. The drugs for nausea seemed to be working wonders. DocJim assured her that once she got over the morning sickness her weight would pick up, and a few months later she would be complaining about her round body, her swelling feet and not being able to tie her shoes.

Maria had almost picked up the phone three or four times to call Michael, but she was afraid he would think it was the baby, so she refrained. The problem was she could almost feel him, sense that he was upset. Around ten it was like the baby developed hiccups. Maria sat crying in her hospital room for a good half hour solid and the nurse was concerned, but it was attributed to hormones. She hated hospitals, their smell, their sound and their sterile cold feel. It would be nice to go home. Less than twenty-four hours away and she was feeling homesick, needing the warmth and safety she associated with her life, Michael and the loft.

“Knock, knock!”

Maria looked over at the opened hospital bed and swallowed a moan. Dammit! Gerald Tiny stood in the doorway smiling holding a huge vase full of sunflowers. This was all Michael’s fault for not coming for her sooner, but she would forgive him since his day couldn’t have been a nice walk in the park. He was opening up the Dump, and that meant more bodies.

“Professor Tiny!” Maria gestured to the flowers. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Uh uh, Gerald!”

“Right.”

“I missed you in the staff lunch room today, and George told me what happened. I was devastated to hear that you almost lost your baby, which is hard since I hadn’t realized that you were expecting.”

“We hadn’t announced it, so it was a surprise for most people.” Maria found herself becoming irritated by his tone, an almost implied sound that he should’ve been informed. Gerald Tiny for some reason was hounding her, following her around campus, chatting her up and trying to be overly friendly. It didn’t make sense. They never had more than a nodding relationship of passing acquaintances.

“Well I’m glad to see that you look better, my dear.”

Maria’s skin cringed at the ‘my dear’, but she forced a smile on her face, none the less. “Gerald. I appreciate the flowers and your stopping, but I’m really tired and I was just going to take a nap while waiting for Michael to come take me home.”

“And you should. You’re eating and resting for two now. I’ve got to admit that you’ve come to my mind more and more every day. Last year was hard with losing Dianne. We started teaching at the same time, and she was a sort of friend. I think it is all this unpleasantness over a serial killer, and having one of my graduate students just be murdered like that. Janet was a fine educator, very precise and practical. I can’t see how she could just go out one day and meet a monster who woos her to her death. I would’ve thought a woman of Janet’s personality would’ve been more reserved and careful.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Gerald. I hadn’t realized you were so close to the victim...Janet.” Maria didn’t even want to cross the mental line of how exactly close Gerald was to Janet. Gerald wasn’t a bad-looking man. He was a contemporary with Dianne, in his mid to late thirties. But Maria found that gleam in his eyes sort of...greedy, and that look alone detracted from his looks and his appeal.

Gerald just waved off her offered condolences. “I’m hoping that your detective is making headway with these brutal slayings. I heard that three bodies have been recovered, and more are suspected to be lost. So, do you think the killer is a sociopath or a serial? I was thinking that depending on his morality base, and concepts of good and evil...”

Maria drowned him out as he went on and on trying to find clues and solutions to a subject better left alone. Maria looked at her phone and wished she could pick it up and call her uncle’s suite at the Roswell Towers and ask him to send over ‘the Boys’ to guard her room from undesirables. But in truth, there was no reason to shut the barnyard gate now that the horse was already gone.

~~~

The bullpen was subdued that day. The shock and horror of all the uncovered bodies was the subject weighing on everyone’s mind. Even solving so many missing persons’ cases at once, didn’t lift the general feelings of disease coating the room. Michael was too quiet, even more than usual. All his responses were almost exclusively grunts.

It wasn't until he looked up and saw her that Michael’s mischievous humor returned. Glancing sideways at Sean standing next to him going through pictures of missing teenagers and young adults, Michael said softly, “ADA in the house.”

Sean’s entire body went stiff. Oh god! He was too busy to deal with the ADA right now. Sean looked up at her and her brisk, all business walk, the set determination of her chin and the movement of her body telling him she was meaning business. Dammit, it wasn’t fair that his therapy was only weeks along and she was a temptation to falter.

“I’d let her spank me.” Sean shook his head. How the hell did that slip out?

Michael didn’t even look at him. He just made a vile remark followed by a grunt and then a full- blown rant. “What that hell is going on here? Do you have to just let any old comment go? Don’t I have enough to deal with, with Maria in the hospital, everyone invading my home, Max giving me up-to-the-minute status reports on his forays into a new gay lifestyle kissing Jonathan Stiller no less, Hanson smelling like that old frost inside of old refrigerators with a stinky-sweet smell attached, Kyle calling Tess every hour on the hour making sickening noises and now you rubbing up against the ADA and practically humping her leg like a puppy-bitch in heat? That’s it! I’m going to go pick up my family, take them home and try to forget the world for a while.”

Sean thought about it. Michael was right. He was being too easy. She’d never respect him in the morning. He tried to remember why that would be a bad thing, but then gave himself the ‘I’m in therapy for my issues’ lecture and decided to play it safe. Sean looked for a place to hide. No control. No control. Seeing her heading their way, Sean ducked down under Michael’s desk with a quick, “Hide me!”

Michael's scowl increased as Sean darted past his legs to lurk beside the desk, hiding from ADA Julia. Her legs weren’t bad, and far as Michael could tell she reminded him a little of his own Professor. The man was sick. He had happily dated the Parker mouse for over six months with hardly a complaint, but he hides from the likes of ADA MacLeod? This was getting too warped to take. Michael was through. He wanted to go home.

“Where is Detective DeLuca? The secretary said he was over here.”

Michael looked at her and nodded. “He is.”

“Where?” She had an edge in her voice that made Michael want to laugh.

“Where all self-respecting detectives are. He’s cowering under my desk.”

“Really? Well drag his worthless ass out and I’ll take him off your hands.”

“With pleasure.” Michael reached down and dragged Sean upward while Sean called him a traitor to the Brotherhood. “Get over it. Take it like a man. She looks like she just going to knock you around a bit.”

“I’ll get you for this, Guerin.”

Michael grabbed his jacket and waved at an amused Max. “Yeah, leave a message on my f-ucking voice mail, Sean. It’s 1-800-Go to Hell.” Michael gave Julia a stern look before he left. “Tell him to get his raspy-breathing self home to rest, don’t kick him around too much and don’t let him bum a cigarette for anything in the world.” With that Michael took off, mumbling under his breath about being tired of being everyone’s babysitter.

Sean just stood his ground and finally looked at Julia. Damn, she looked nice--real nice. Wondering if she would consider dinner with him that night, or they could just skip the all-you-can-eat chicken buffet and go straight to sex. He was so busy planning that the words didn’t sink in for a moment or two.

“Jason Rubio is missing.”

“Oh no! No! I’m not finding your missing suspect. Your people lost him, then they can find him. Last I heard he was in the custody of the courts. That is outside my domain. I’m wiping my hands clean of this case.”

“Look.” Sean just tossed his hands up in the air and went through the door to the breakroom for more coffee. “Just listen. The judge granted yet another continuance until Perdy could mend, and with you being tortured, too…”

“I wasn’t tortured! I playing a little slap and tickle with a bruiser named Shirley, or something like that. I’m fine.”

“You look sick. Your face is a fright, and you sound like you can’t breathe. Don’t tell me you’re not in pain.”

“Pain I can handle, but chasing down another one of your suspects on the lam? No. Not going to happen.”

“I’m not asking you to find Rubio! I just wanted to warn you that he’s on the loose. I wanted to tell you to be careful.” She made a puffing noise of exasperation and started to head to the door. “Maybe I don’t like having your blood on my hands!” Sean stopped her.

“I’m sorry.” She stood still under his hands, but reluctantly gave a nod. “Thank you for the warning. Listen. I’m having a sh-itty life that’s capping off a real sh-itty week. Best thing was seeing my family, but I would've preferred not almost having to die to see them. However I’m not a hard man to please. I’ll take what I can get.”

Julia looked at him worried. “I really didn’t expect you to almost get yourself killed looking for Perdy. And you’re right. I do owe you. So I’m repaying by warning you to watch your back.” Julia decided to head out before she said anything she couldn’t take back later.

“Wait! You really feel you owe me?” Julia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Somewhat. Why?”

Sean smiled his most charming of smiles. “I need a date.” She just huffed at him and tried to leave again. “No, wait! I said a date, not sex. It’s perfectly innocent. I swear.”

Julia just snorted at him in disbelief. Where did they breed people like him? He was insane.

“My aunt is marrying my Captain tomorrow. I spent the entire week looking for your witness and hanging from a meat hook. And I don’t look able to talk a blind old maid into giving me five minutes of her time. But I don’t want to show up at the wedding stag. My family will be there, and it’ll make me look bad. I’ll lose face.”

“Your face is something they should be used to since they gave it to you.”

“Not that kind of face! I’ll make a deal with you. You don’t even have to really talk to me.”

“No dancing? And we leave early?”

“One dance, we stay until the bride and groom leave, and I take you home.”

“My doorstep only, my debt to you is repaid, and you’ll never try to blackmail me again?”

“Deal.”

She didn’t want to do this. He was blackmailing her, but a part of her realized that she had put him in harm's way, and still he came through. But the whole thing was still pissing her off. “Fine. Pick me up at my house at...?”

“I’ll be there by three-thirty.”

“If I do this...I expect the slate to be wiped clean and I want my damn shoe back. Clean!” Julia walked towards the door. “That is non-negotiable!”

Sean smiled to himself with a twinkle in his eyes. Looked like he owed Michael for not letting him hide. Damn, she was so in love with him!

~~~

Maria watched him. Michael was silent and brooding, and it didn’t take much to guess the reason. The Dump. Mr. Booboo was excited to see them. He followed them upstairs whiningly telling them his woes. Maria wasn’t surprised to see that he left her a stockpile of dead birds at the foot of the bed and one in Michael’s running shoe. She was almost getting used to the bird carnage.

They stood looking at each other for a few moments. He finally moved closer and took her face between his palms and leaned his forehead against hers. The last time she had been in their bedroom, he almost lost her.

“Want to talk about it?” Maria wasn’t sure what she was offering. To talk about her sickness, the baby and what the hell was going on with them, or about the Dump.

Michael just shook his head. Not yet.

“What do you need?”

Michael just led her into the bathroom and started the shower. He needed to feel something, to feel warm, and to feel her . She was washing his back when suddenly he leaned forward, put his forearm against the tile and rested his head on it. Maria frowned when she noticed his body was shaking. Moving her hands up his back in broad sweeping gestures, she rubbed his back in comfort as her arms went around to his front and she hugged him tight with her head on his back.

Michael suddenly turned and dropped to his knees in front of her, water cascading off his body as he buried his head in her stomach.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” She stroked the skin at the back of his neck as she leaned down to kiss his head, soothing him with sounds of comfort.

“My dream. It was like my dream. The smell of blood...sickeningly sweet and cloying rising off the ground...all the bodies...so many men, all dead.”

“Shhh.” Maria pulled him up and dragged him out of the shower. Wiping down his wet body and then hers, she led him to bed. They wrapped themselves around each other and her hands mapped out his body and the feel of his skin, as she continued to hold him tight. “You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone again.”

They moved against each other not once, but time and time again. It was more than sex, more than feeding, it was reaffirming their connection. Michael needed to feel every inch of her skin on his, touch all of her and test her skin with his teeth. Her blood, the smell and appeal were driving him insane. It started with the taste of her skin and the way its sweat mixed with his to make a scent unique to them. It had to be the hormones loaded in her blood that was drawing him, anchoring him to her in this primitive bonding and bloodletting. She drained him, and it was like a siren song in his veins wanting more, and wanting her to take it all. She was like a succubus pulling all the energy from his body, and taking it in hers to feed their child.

He had been wrong. He thought the hunger he felt, the need to eat all the time, was due to her cravings, but it wasn’t. It was his body needing to replenish his reserves quickly in order to keep her and his child alive. The rush he felt from them, the connection, was like its own addiction and the chemistry of her blood was like an attractant to him, her mate.

Maria turned in his arms and grasped the back of Michael's neck and pulled him into a kiss so fiery that his heart shuddered and then ignited into a galloping canter, his body jerking forward to press onto as much of Maria's skin as possible, arms crossing over her front as he mated his chest to her back. His hands moving down to cup her, to enter her, and open her for him. He lifted one leg to push it forward to give him easier access to her. It wasn’t sex. It was more. It was everything and nothing at the same time, and in a flash it became something raw and intense as his mouth found the skin of her back, the firmness of her muscles and the attractiveness of her blood as he bit into her. Maria was effectively trapped against Michael's body as he ravished her mouth and body, and drank from her. Michael leaned forward and took his pocket knife and cut a swipe across his forearm and fed her as he fed on her at the same time. He left whisker burns on her back as he penetrated her deep from behind in one full thrust.

Their bed was squeaking as they jerked back and forth. Their bodies were slipping in the sweat that coated their skin and eased the pattern Michael had set. The rhythm was holding her to him as she licked at the blood on his skin. Then Michael hit a place inside that shot liquid fire through her entire body and she cried out in a hissing cry for more, for him to come harder.

Michael's own voice had ceased to function, only grunts and pants snuffing
hard from his hot face pressed to Maria's neck as his mouth continued to drink from her. The rhythm that they had started, slow then fast thrusts, was long lost and the blood and energy swelled and broke in waves. His movements became more erratic and frenzied. Deeper and harder, as fast as he could manage it. The force of his thrusts with all their muscles engaged, was straining Maria's own strength, and she could feel her own muscles begin to quiver under the onslaught as the first rushes of his essence hit her in a blinding passion followed quickly by his semen.

Suddenly Maria achieved a release. Her whole body tightened, back arching, mouth open, eyes shut, muscles clenching hard, splashing warmth over his c-ock. Michael grunted as Maria's internal muscles grabbed him. He thrust twice against the pressure and cried out as he spasmed inside her, again.

Maria felt herself melt into the bed, slipping into a dreamy state with a long, sweet sigh. Her head fell onto his shoulder and his big body snuggled against her, chin at the joint of Maria's neck and shoulder. Michael's nose moved along the skin of her neck and up into Maria's sweaty hair lying damp against her skin. A low "I missed you last night...love you...so much,"
huffed in a warm breath into her ear. Unable to speak, Maria grasped the long arm that came around her front and took his blood back in her mouth feeling him orgasm again and his questioning response in her ear. She pressed her head and body back against Michael's shoulder and body, and moaned her answer.

“I love you.”

~~~

Max looked over at Jonathan. They were in the kitchen making dinner. Jonathan wasn't wearing a shirt and he was standing in the kitchen in a pair of soft chinos and bare feet.

“What’re you looking for?”

“Balsamic vinegar. I wanted to poach the salmon in some with fresh dill and lemon. I know I don’t cook much, but I swear I had some last time I cooked. I made a raspberry and balsamic vinaigrette dressing.”

Max just nodded and leaned back. He wasn’t much of a cook. He leaned against the countertop and drank slowly on a glass of white wine. It was cool and crisp, almost light on the tongue and slightly dry. He liked it. For a moment he wondered why he wasn’t feeling drunk.

So...cooking. That was harmless enough. Max was trying to loosen up, stop being so anal about where he was going with Jonathan. Maybe it was more important to make a new friend than worrying about him as a lover. Max missed his close friendship with Michael. Since Michael and Maria had gotten together, so much of Michael’s time was taken up with her. Even though Max and Michael still did things, it wasn’t the same as when they were both chasing every skirt in Roswell and being losers at love.

Jonathan handed Max a bowl of egg whites and asked him to whip them. He hovered over Max, criticizing occasionally and giving orders without much argument from Max, but a few glares. Suddenly, the heady scent of Jonathan hit him as Jonathan’s arms came around his waist and put his hands over Max’s to show him how to best whip up the egg whites. Suddenly Max was no longer interested in cooking. He spun around to face Jonathan after putting the bowl down on the counter not so gently, and found himself running his fingers over Jonathan's chest. His body was long and lean, and yet his chest and stomach was well developed and muscular.

The feeling was incredible - at once both familiar and alien. Passion rose up in him and he raised his head to look into Jonathan's eyes. He saw his passion mirrored there and strong arms encircled him, bringing their bodies tightly together.

It was strange to him--this feeling he was getting seemed familiar and yet uncertain. The warmth, the solidity and the scent of arousal - all promised things to come. Max watched the slow movement of Jonathan’s mouth towards his, and he couldn’t help but to lick his lips at the sudden dryness. The moan from the other man sparked his body and suddenly his eyes felt too heavy to remain open. Max's head spun and the next time he stopped to take a breath, he found he was kneeling on the kitchen floor, kissing Jonathan completely. His hands slid down Jonathan's back and under the waistband of his jeans. That touch, that forbidden touch, sparked the desire for more contact. Max pulled their bodies apart to unbutton and pull down Jonathan's chinos, and when they moved together again it was skin on skin.

What happened to my clothes? Max dimly wondered. He couldn’t remember taking them off, or even Jonathan doing it. But then Jonathan was pulling Max down on top of him, and there was no room for questions.

Max's entire world narrowed to the feelings spreading out from his body. A burning intensity filled him as he felt Jonathan's erection rub against his. He couldn't stop moving, hands roaming, lips tasting - it would never be enough. He felt Jonathan's hands on his hips and ass, urging him on and on and on...until he felt he couldn't bear the escalating pressure any longer. He surged over the final barrier and...

Max sat up in bed in the dark with a sharp short yell. Sitting there, panting and his chest heaving at the memory, he was confused. Reaching beside him and around in the dark he realized that there was no Jonathan.

The knock startled him. “Max? Max, are you okay?”

Max breathed in deep and tried to calm his breathing and body. Sitting on the side of the bed he ran his hands through his hair. It was a dream, an incredible wet dream with residual side effects and a need for a shower to clean his own mess from his skin. Damn.

“Max?” Isabel asked as she tentatively opened his bedroom door. “Are you okay? I was worried when you didn’t answer.”

“I’m fine, Iz.” Max was surprised at the hoarse deep sound to his voice.

“I heard you scream. Was it a nightmare? About today?” Isabel was worried about her brother. He was too distracted lately, and he had been thrashing and moaning for a short while before he screamed.

“It was a dream. Just a dream.” Max got to his feet on shaky legs and stopped in the doorway next to Isabel. Kissing her on the forehead, he pushed her back towards her room. “I’m okay. I’m going to take a shower and calm down so I can go back to sleep. You’ve got an early morning with all the wedding preparations, so go back to sleep.” Isabel gave him an uncertain look, but nodded as she slowly went back to her room. “Oh, and Iz?” She turned to look at him again at her doorway. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.” Iz just smiled as she went back to bed.

Max found his way into the bathroom and stood under the shower washing away the smell of himself from his body, and the memory. It was the feel of the arms going around his waist with one hand traveling up his torso, and the other moving down to settle at his groin, collecting him in a tight grip that had his head moving back with a moan. The feel of the naked hard flesh against his back and the nipping of the skin of his neck felt too good.

“Is this what you want?”

“God, yes!” Max closed his eyes as he felt his body release and come. Standing in the cooling water, he looked down at the sight of his own hand on his flesh. Shivering, he quickly turned off the shower and rested his forehead to the cool tile. Great, he just added Jonathan Stiller to his spank file, and the top of his fantasy list.

Shit.