Roswell Fanatics

Hey Eva, thanks for the great part!

Coming back to my FB about Tess, I agree about what you wrote but with a nuance:
If Tess was so nasty, it hasn't only to do with her alien statut, but also with her caracter!

People who had shitty childhoods don't always finish in a bad way; if they have caracter, they react and tried to ameliorate their situation in life and are sometimes really lucky with it. And it is called having the choice.

But Tess was only obsessed by Max and destiny, even if he didn't want her and I am sure she was attracted by Kyle... which shows that, from point of view cleverness, for me she was narrow-minded!
At the end, it costed her life...


Thanks waiting for more! EVE

It' good to read more of this story.
Was Courtney Michael's wife/ex-wife?
I like how Kyle and Tess are in this fic.
Can't wait to see where this story takes us.

Kismet

Oh Alex....this is what happens when your two best friends are GIRLS!!! Girl talk! HA! Love it. Great update Eva!

Just found. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.

@ Carolyn: Sometimes I have some nostalgia pangs too. Maybe that’s way I wrote this story like I’m doing right now: with a lot of winks at the real thing and plenty of dry humor. Or at least, that’s what I’m trying.

The friendship between the three of them is indeed very special.

@ Eve: True, you’ve got a point there. On the other hand, if you’re brainwashed or if you don’t know any better (‘cause nobody thought you so), I’m not sure if character alone could change someone. I think it depends from person to person.
In the real thing Tess did choose the wrong way & indeed, she was narrow-minded too. Maybe that’s why I like fanfiction, you can change things or persons for the better.

@ Kismet: Your wish is my command: the story about Michael will be revealed in this chapter.
The chemistry between Tess & Kyle is playful & up for more.

@ Sara: Lol! Yeah, Alex sure choose the wrong friends in that approach. But their fun radiates on him and it will him more than he would admit.

@ Roswelllostcause: Welcome!


A/N:

Hi everyone,

You had to wait several weeks for this one but I can officially announce: the new chapter is in the house! This twentieth chapter will be a treat though: I celebrated this anniversary edition with an extra long chapter with full of M&M stuff! I even extended my borders.
- Angel, thank you for your support, without it I wouldn’t have made it. -

So I can only hope you’ll enjoy it. In the mean time, I’ll continue the party in real life with the upcoming birthday of my daughter and myself this Saturday & Sunday. Hooray for Hanne who’s turning two!

Eva

PS. Out of habit, references and quotes of first season’s “Heatwave” and “Independence day” can be found in this chapter.



Chapter twenty

Maria entered the house and threw her keychain on the kitchen table. She sang out loud, unable to hide her good mood. The cosy little breakfast with her friends had done her good. It had been too long since they had laughed and joked around like that. Liz and she had of course seen each other on a very regular basis. But it hadn’t been the same without Alex joking around. It was the perfect way to start her only day off this week.

She looked up when she heard a car in her driveway. Would it be one of her parents or Kyle? Glimpses of a bright blue van gave the identity of its driver way. So the second he stepped in, a cheerful “Good morning, brother of mine!” greeted Kyle.

Grumpy, he looked up at her. “Why are you happy as a clam at high tide?”

“I had the most hilarious and fun breakfast I’ve had in ages. I never realised how much I missed Alex until now.” Her happiness radiated in every little detail of her body language, which was in total contradiction to Kyle’s ill-tempered face.

“But who bit you? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

“Way too soon you mean,” he mumbled. “And on top of that it seems I haven’t got enough ammo to throw that leach out of your house.” And with that he threw Michael’s file on the kitchen table.

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Kyle Valenti!”

“Hey, I never said I liked this situation! Far from it, actually. So don’t come ‘Kyle’-ing me.”

Maria quirked an eyebrow when his temper rose. It calmed Kyle a bit.

“Now, sit,” she ordered him.

Frustrated, he grabbed the closest by chair and took a seat.

Without saying a thing Maria turned around to her cooking area, took two cups out of the cupboard and pressed the button of her coffee machine. The moment she offered him a cup of coffee she began talking. “I presume that you’re not happy with the contents?”

He snorted out loud. “You can say that again.”

Kyle took a sip of his coffee and looked up to her. “The minute I saw Michael, I knew there was something fishy about him. I had hoped the report would give me some pointers.”

“But it didn’t,” she concluded.

“Hell no!” Pissed-off, he glared at the blasted thing. “But I’m telling you, Maria, something isn’t right about this guy. I can feel it in my little toe. Who says that he isn’t a serial killer or something?

Maria rolled her eyes. “Kyle! You’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

“Come on, Maria,” he countered, “Don’t be so naïve. Michael isn’t exactly a blank sheet of paper. He grew up in a filthy trailer park and he collected more than enough marks on his record back then. My dad saw him on a regular base at the police station and it wasn’t because he was selling candy for a good cause, you know.”

“And he changed his life for the better and became a well-known architect.” She pointed out.

“How do you know that? You haven’t read it yet!”

“I don’t need some objective paperwork to gather information.” She blinked her prominent lashes briefly. “Ever heard of a woman’s intuition?”

“Yeah, right!” Kyle’s disbelief was hilarious and made Maria stick her tongue out at him.

“Besides Alex recognized him the other day when he was here. He told me some things.” And Michael accidently gave me a view of his scattered soul too. But she couldn’t say that out loud. It would freak Kyle out even more than he was right now.

“Well, I’ve done my job. For now anyway.”

He stood up and shoved the document towards her. “But I can tell you this. I will keep more than an eye on him and I strongly suggest you do the same thing.”

Resolutely Maria shook her head. “I’m not going to read it, Kyle. So, please, take it with you.”

“I know you, Maria. And you’re way too curious to let this go by without looking into it.”

“Not this time, Kyle.” She collected the used mugs and put them in the dishwasher.

“Well, see you later.”

After she heard him leave, she looked back over her shoulder. The stupid report was still lying in the exact same spot on her kitchen table. “Argh, why did God create men so stubborn?” she cursed out loud.

***

Maria was preparing a cheese sandwich with a lot of vegetables when she heard a knock at her back door. She winked him in when she noticed Michael.

“Sorry for the interruption.” He pointed towards her meal.

“Don’t be.” She smiled at him. “You want one too?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t have to bother for me.”

Quickly she fetched another piece of bread. “No trouble at all. Please take a seat. How do you like your sandwich?”

He was about to speak when he noticed the file with his name printed in clear type on it.

The minute he saw his name, his blood started boiling. Rationally he knew why they had checked him out, but he couldn’t help feeling offended too. Not only had he always guarded his privacy to the extreme, he also wasn’t proud of some of the details in his past.

“Read all the gory details about how I fucked up the lives of the most precious things in the world, huh?”

“You tell me.”

Maria’s plain answer provoked him even more. Harshly he responded to her. “Don’t tell me you didn’t read a thing outta that file.”

He was about to leave the house when she startled him completely. “I’ve got no clue whatsoever what’s written in it.”

“What?!” Michael whirled around. “Why?”

Maria saw she had his attention now and looked him right in the eyes. “Because I wanted to hear it from you and not from some stupid, impersonal file.”

He stayed quiet but didn’t leave. It made her believe he was open for questions.

“You have a girl too, huh?” She knew she was pushing the limits with this one. The risky question could trigger him to speak but chances were better that he would build his walls even higher than he was doing right now. But Maria had seen fragments of a little toddler in his dreams and she felt in every fibre of her soul that the little thing could be the key to Michael’s story.

“Had would be the correct verb here.” Michael’s plain expression didn’t give a hint.

Curious she continued. “Is she away with her mother?”

“That’s one way of putting it. Hanna and Courtney both died. A hit and run. One year ago.”

Maria inhaled sharply. “God, sorry, Michael, I didn’t know that.”

Michael just stared straight ahead, the muscle in his tightly-clenched jaw ticking rapidly.

“Now you know.”

Every single gesture in his posture was screaming at her to drop the matter, so Maria knew she had to try another approach. During the years she had learned the hard way that she needed to temper her vivid nature. Her blunt way of tackling things had blown up in her own face several times at times. So she had become very good in taking a detour to reach her goal. Her negotiation skills had become legendary because she had learned to combine her direct interrogation techniques with thoroughness and great timing. Jim, her stepdad, had always joked that a career as an investigator had been a lost opportunity for the local police department.

“So Isabel’s your twin sister?”

His eyes lit up when he heard her change the conversation. His features eased slightly. “Yeah, but we didn’t grow up together.”

“I know,” Maria nodded, “Max told me.”

“He did?”

“Surprised?”

Although Maria could clearly read the surprise in his expression, Michael just shrugged. “It’s no secret. We were all put in an orphanage together, but they got adopted and I didn’t.”

His monotone voice and the matter-of-fact way he laid out the facts bothered her more than she could say. On the surface he looked healed and normal but she had seen the wounds that still festered under the surface. She could hear the silent cry in every word he said or most of the time didn’t say. It made her heart bleed.

She cocked her head a bit. “That’s just wrong. They split up twins?”

“I never belonged there.” He scratched his eyebrow. “I never told anyone something like this. I’m probably boring you stiff right now.”

“That might surprise you. I can put myself in your shoes very well. I never belonged anywhere either. Granted, I had my mom. But she swept me to so many places-”

“Ditto. You won’t believe how many foster homes I encountered.”

“Yeah, but I still had her and you-”

He shrugged again, “Love is overrated if you ask me.”

She sympathized with him. Gently she touched his hand. “It’s okay to mourn, you know.”

As if stung by a bee, he withdrew his hand. Offended, he objected, “I did mourn.”

Her carefully restrained patience and tact slipped away. “No, you didn’t, Michael. You ran away and lost yourself in booze and denial. You won’t get them back like that. You’re sober for what? Four days now? That’s a good beginning, you know. But don’t lie to me and most importantly not to yourself either. It won’t do you any good. Don't dwell in a place that can only hold pain and anger, Michael. It’s a mindless place that will suck your life away.”

The moment she said it, she knew she had crossed the boundaries. She still believed every word she had said but the metaphorical mirror she had held before his face, shattered into a million pieces.

“Just rub it in, huh?” Furious he pointed a finger towards her. “You don’t know shit about me. And I sure as hell don’t need your pity.”

That said he stormed away, the sound of a slamming door echoing behind him long after he was gone.

Maria bit her bottom lip. With empathy she saw him leaving. His closed off and tense posture touched her deeply.

“Oh, Michael,” she whispered. The puzzle pieces had fallen together and the image it had given her wasn’t a happy one. Not at all, actually. But it explained a lot and she was glad she knew now.

***

In the dusk of evening Michael found his way back to the cottage. After his dispute with Maria he had done it again. Angry and upset he had just left, wandering in the woods behind the house. When he had finally crossed a main road, he had heard a truck coming. Without thinking it through he had raised his thumb to hitch a ride. To his surprise the blue truck had stopped and offered him a ride. The conversation with the driver had finally opened his eyes.

Ain't no aliens in that town. Let me ask you something. If you were an alien, you can go anywhere in the world, would you pick Roswell?

The truck driver would never understand why his casual attempt at small talk with his passenger had led to an emergency stop. But for Michael it had altered everything and led him back to a place where he felt at home after a very long period. Michael smirked when the word ‘home’ went through his head. Maybe hideout was a better way to describe the peace he had found with Maria and her daughter.

He leaned back against his fellow companion in this refuge, the tree stump where he had searched for peace of mind the last couple of days. Softly it started to rain. Gentle raindrops beating on his face and chilled his tense nerves. Michael threw his head back, savoring the welcome refreshment. Savoring the moment.

The sound of music broke the silence of the evening. Someone was playing the piano. The moving melody lured him up and towards the main house. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Maria on the bench. She wore a light white summer dress and her hair was put up loosely. With closed eyes she touched the piano keys with more passion than he had ever seen.

As if she knew somebody was watching her, she looked up, her eyes locking right onto his.

Without breaking eye contact, she slowly stood and walked towards the big sliding doors. With a single motion of her hand Maria opened them for him. His brooding look warmed her heart and gave her goose bumps at the same time.

She thought about the harsh words she had thrown in his face earlier. She wanted to check on him but the minute she opened her mouth, he laid a finger against her lips to silence her.

Gently he let his hand wander over her face, trailing down with a softness that surprised her. His fingers caressed her cheeks and finally came to rest at her shoulder. With both hands he cupped her face and bent over to touch her lips tenderly.

In a fraction reality came back to him. Michael had no clue why he had kissed her and he braced himself for an infuriated Maria. But she surprised him and herself when she curled her hands round his neck and pulled him even closer.

Within seconds the heat exploded. Their guards disappeared into nothing, leaving only a strong force of affection and hunger. Without reserve they clung to each other, hands and mouths roaming over every single detail, exploring every available inch of skin.

The passion crackled in the air and it became even more charged when the drizzle changed to a downpour. Giving the romantic atmosphere an even more sensual underlining.

Without releasing her lips, Michael lifted her up. Strong hands clung to her backside in a gentle but firm grip, slowly carrying her towards her black grand piano. Smoothly he lowered her onto the lid of the piano.

The little flames of the white candles on the side table illuminated her face. The enchanting halo round her features made him hesitate.

Uncomprehending, she frowned. Would he really stop right now? Every fiber of her body screamed for more.

Her eyes immediately tried to find his. The torn look in them showed their hidden questions.

His mind was racing with emotion. Although he wanted to feel her body, comfort her, hold her close to him with every fiber of his soul, he feared the consequences too.

With Courtney it had only been about sex and comforting each other. But after one look, Michael knew Maria was made from a different mould. She breathed love in every possible way. And he wasn’t sure he was the right one for her. Maria deserved someone who loved her, worshipped the ground she walked on. Things he didn’t do. Normally he didn’t get intense. He didn’t know how to love. Hell, he didn’t even understand it, let alone believe in it.
The only one to conquer his heart with a single smile had been Hanna, his little princess. But that wasn’t the same thing and either way he had fucked it up. Would history repeat itself again?

Maria saw the doubt in his features, something she didn’t share. Although she had only known him a couple of days, he felt so familiar to her. She had always been a very intense and passionate lover. Something that scared a lot of men away and attracted the wrong ones. And after she had become a famous singer she had encountered gold diggers too. But with Michael she felt as if she had finally found her equal.

So she grabbed the collar of his hockey jersey and pulled him towards her.

The small act caused his hesitation to crumble. His desire took over and he captured her warmth again.
As his tongue glided along hers, his fingers drifted into her hair. He plucked the clasp and the whole twist collapsed into curls around her shoulders. Tossing the pin aside, he rubbed the silky strands between his fingertips and groaned against her mouth.

The undeniable sound of joy sent a chill down her spine. Maria’s nipples tightened and began to ache, agitated even more by the cotton of her summer dress. She wanted the robe off, removing the barriers between his hands and her skin. But she wanted to see him too. Feel him and every little curve of his body.

Her fingers wandered to the hem of his wet t-shirt. She grabbed it and tried to slip it over his shoulders but the wet cloth wouldn’t cooperate. With a rough gesture he helped her remove it.

Her eyes dipped to his bare chest as her hands explored the hard contours of his abdomen.

In turn he undid the tiny snap of her neck holder and slid the fabric down her shoulders. The top of the dress pooled around her waist, freeing her firm breasts and exposing them to his eager gaze.

The moment he savored her nipples with his mouth, a moan escaped.

Outside the storm flared up, pouring more oil on the fire inside the music room. The squall increased their verve, their love.

His fingers found their way into her panties. The bold gesture made her gasp for air. Michael didn’t waste a minute and directly let his fingers explore her warmth. With one hand he caressed her back, steadying her when the storm inside and outside brought her on the edge. With the other he sped up his rhythm even more.

Eventually a crackling thunderbolt coincided with her orgasm and lit the whole room. Completely contented she leaned against him, inhaling his scent while imprinting the moment on her mind.

She smiled at him. “Hello to you, too.”

Her delayed greeting made his smirk widen. With twinkling eyes his husky voice whispered in her ear. “I’ve got a friend who wants to say hello too. Where’s your room?”

He lifted her in his arms and with a nod she directed him in the right direction.

It makes me sad.......that Michael wasn't adopted with Max and Isabel.
Thanks for the update,
Carolyn

I was sad to hear that too, but relieved that he didn't have some great love with Courtney! I feel bad for him losing his daughter.

It has been so long since I have been here! I thought people had given up on this fandom! I am glad they didn't!

Nice part hurry back!

Wow! That was a hot part! Loved Kyle, he is looking for his sister's security and you can't blame him but Maria was right; it was Michael in the past and now, it is now...

Thanks - waiting for more! EVE

Eva! That was nice, long and HOT!! LOVED IT! I can't wait for more. And Kyle....what kind of brother would he be if he DIDN'T look out for his sister? So totally understandable! Great job.