. The last part is up. The lyrics belong to Greenwheel. I've loved the song for quite awhile and always thought it was a perfect M&M song. Listen to the Greenwheel version, not the Melissa Etheridge version that is out now.Disclaimer: The author of this fan fiction does not own any aspect of Roswell. Those rights belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, WB, UPN, 20th Century Fox, etc. Disclaimer added by moderator.
“What are you doing, Maria?” Liz asked. It had been two weeks since the Larek and Brody incident the granolith and the leaving of Michael. In that time period Maria had healed physically but Liz sensed her withdrawal from Roswell.
“I’m packing. I can’t do this anymore, I see how everyone has been looking at me, they think it’s my fault that Michael left. Besides, Todd called today and said their singer has a severe case of laryngitis and they need a replacement in a hurry.”
“No one blames you for Michael leaving, he made his choices.”
“You know what’s so frustrating?” Maria asked, going on as though Liz hadn’t said anything. “It’s the fact that it was always expected that we would be a foursome, every human matched up with an alien. That worked out fine for the rest of you but not for me. I don’t want to be part of the foursome anymore. I didn’t make a bad choice. Maybe I don’t love Todd the way I loved Michael, but I don’t Michael the way I used to. It’s not my fault he left.”
“Maria! Listen to me! No one blames you!” Liz said in a very loud voice.
“Maybe I do blame myself,” Maria said as she looked down at the ground. “I’ve always somehow felt responsible for Michael’s actions. I need to stop doing that and I can’t do it here, not with the rest of the Pod Squad still in residence. I’ll see them and I’ll feel guilty, even though my head tells me I shouldn’t. But I’ve always been more of a lead with my heart kind of a girl.”
“I know.” Liz nodded with understanding. “So when are you leaving?”
“I have to be at the airport at five. I will come back home.” Maria said as she saw Liz’s face looking decidedly upset. “There’s this thing about Roswell, it always calls you back.”
***
Three years later
“Excuse me, Ms. Deluca.”
“Huh?”
“Ms. Deluca, we’re preparing for landing. Could you please tilt your seat back up?”
“What? Oh sorry.” Maria said as she realized the flight attendant was speaking to her. She quickly tilted her seat up as she tried to shake herself free of the exhaustion. She’d fallen asleep almost the minute the plane reached cruising altitude after taking off from Los Angeles. Before that, she’d slept the entire nine-hour flight from Tokyo. But that was expected, after all she had spent most of the last three years on the road touring.
The band, Existence, has started out touring small clubs across the country. Maria had joined three years ago after, in the midst of a cross-country tour, the lead singer had gotten laryngitis. Maria’s boyfriend, Todd, begged Maria to come and cover until the lead singer recovered. But the lead singer took too long and by the time she was ready to come back, it was too late, Existence, was starting get radio play. They graduated from small clubs, to opening act, to, in their latest tour, headliners. But Maria didn’t want any of it anymore. Somewhere along the way Existence had become her whole life. She’d only been home once in three years and that was only for two days for Liz and Max’s wedding. Even then it was a fight because Todd hadn’t wanted her go. Her understanding, sweet boyfriend had turned into a control-freak workaholic. Todd wanted her to work on something with band, about the band, for the band, every day. Maria should have said no but her guilt complex now expanded to the band. She felt like the fate of the band rested on her shoulders and if she didn’t put in one hundred and ten percent then it would fail and be all her fault. And it would have gone on like that if Maria hadn’t finally collapsed onstage during a concert in Tokyo. Her doctor had told her she was dehydrated and exhausted and she needed a lot of rest. Todd had come into her room to visit and yelled at her for screwing up the tour. Maria had promptly booked a flight home the next day. She realized she didn’t care about the band anymore, what was once her outlet had become her prison and she refused to live like that anymore. Of course, her breakup with band had a slight snag since she and Todd had been
It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, it was planned, albeit not exactly how Maria had imagined it, but it was planned. In the first couple of months after Maria left Roswell, she and Todd were on a relationship high. They were together, making music and that was what mattered. When Todd proposed Maria had no doubts about saying yes. They picked a date in December, and decided to get married in whatever city they happened to be in. Only the band members were there, no family, no close friends. At the time it hadn’t mattered to Maria, she was high on love. But by the time Liz’s wedding rolled around in May and Todd had turned into a control freak, Maria certainly had regrets, namely that she hadn’t insisted on a long engagement and a nicer wedding.
Maria had no regrets about leaving Todd, except that she wished she’d done it sooner. But she was afraid that he was going to fight her on the divorce. Her leaving the band threatened his lively hood, his whole life, and Maria was afraid of how he was going to react.
Upon the flight’s arrival, Maria quickly gathered her bags, ducking her head in an attempt to not be noticed. Her mother would be waiting for her and there was nothing more she wanted to do than be hugged.
“Maria!” Amy screeched as she spotted her through the doors. She quickly ran up to give her daughter a long hug. The visits with her only child had been few and far between and she missed her baby.
“Mom!” Maria was quickly enveloped into her mother’s arms and for the first time in a long time she felt safe.
***
“We’d better go.” Maria said as she pulled out of her mother’s embrace. She’d heard more than one, “That’s Maria Deluca,” and she really wasn’t in the mood to be bombarded by fans.
“Honey, you don’t look well.” Amy said when they were safely ensconced in the car and driving away from the airport.
“My doctor said it’s exhaustion, I need lots of rest and I’ll be fine. We’ve just been working so much that I never get a chance to slow down but that’s all going to change. Mom, I’m not going to go back to the band or Todd, I’m finished with all of it.”
“It’s okay,” said Amy, “you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to live with Jim and I for the rest of your life then we’ll be happy to have you.”
Maria laughed at the thought of that. “Well, I don’t think I’ll be living with you forever, but for a little while.”
I hate to ask this, Maria, but you’re not going to get sued or anything for leaving the tour?”
“No, there’s always a clause in the contracts with the promoters giving us the right to back out in case of illness. I’m just glad that our record contract is almost up so I’m not obligated to the record company in any way. I can leave it all behind and they can’t stop me.”
“I’m glad,” Amy smiled. It’s going to be so nice having you home. I saw Liz at The Crashdown the other day. She was so excited you were coming home, she’s missed you so much. All your friends have missed you.
“I’ve missed them, too,” Maria said as she saw the alien sign that welcomed visitors to Roswell. “All of them,” she whispered.
Four days later Maria was getting ready for a party at The Crashdown. It was a party for her, so everyone could welcome her home. Tess and Isabel had planned it. They had opened a wedding and party planning business together and almost immediately became the most popular planners within a fifty-mile radius of Roswell.
Tess and Kyle were still dating. Maria had last seen the two of them about seven months ago when she had flown the whole family to Dublin for Christmas. They seemed very much in love but Kyle had privately confided to Maria that he was still a little scared of taking the next step, not because he was afraid Tess would leave again but because he was afraid he would end up being like his mother and leave her.
Isabel and Alex ended up just being friends. They dated for a while but, while deeply caring about one another, they admitted they were better off as friends. Isabel had married a lawyer named Jesse a couple of months ago. Maria was supposed to be a bridesmaid but Todd refused to cancel a couple of tour dates so Maria had to back out. Alex opened a computer repair shop in Roswell and it was doing quite well. He e-mailed Maria just two weeks ago that his latest girlfriend had dumped him but he remained optimistic about finding the right girl someday.
Liz and Max had recently moved back to Roswell after Max had finished his degree a year early. He was going to be an elementary teacher in Roswell starting in the fall. Liz decided that she didn’t want to continue with her medical studies but instead go back to her first love, molecular biology. She was a professor at Roswell Community College.
“We all left but we all came back,” Maria thought to herself as she put on her makeup. “Except for Michael, he hasn’t come back.”
Maria had thought a lot about Michael and the rest of the past three years. At first it was just random thoughts of hoping he was okay but then it developed into not being able to stop thinking about him. Of course this obsession started when Todd started playing the control freak and Maria turned into a meek person and let him push her around. Granted, she had taken a backseat to a lot of alien problems but when it came down to it, she knew whom she was and where she was going back in those days. Part of her hoped that by remembering whom she was when she was with Michael, she could get it back again. The other part of her liked remembering that fierce love they’d had for one another. Todd never loved her like that and she didn’t love Todd like that. Maria used to think that was okay, to just love with half a heart, but now she knew it wasn’t.
Checking the time, Maria realized she was going to be late for her own party. She quickly stood up only to have to sit back down again because her legs were unwilling to hold her. Maria sighed with frustration, after four days of complete bed rest she should be better but instead it felt like she was getting worse. She slept for twelve-hour periods and still felt tired, her dizzy spells were getting more frequent and now it seemed she couldn’t stand up. Willing her legs to comply, Maria stood up again and this time she stayed up. Maria hoped more than anything that she would be able to make it through this party.
Two hours later Maria was having a great time. Isabel and Tess had decorated The Crashdown in the style of the 1960’s. With the gang back together again, with the exception of Michael, it was definitely an evening of peace and love.
“Excuse me everyone,” Alex’s voice called out to the small group of people. “I think we should give Maria her gift now.”
“Oh, you guys didn’t have to get me anything,” Maria protested. “This party is more than enough.”
“Actually, we didn’t.” Kyle piped up. “Awhile back we all discovered that each of us had been hoarding a secret stash of articles of you and Existence. We decided to pool our resources and make you a scrapbook of them.”
“Because were so proud of you,” Isabel said as she handed Maria the large book.
“I don’t know what to say,” Maria whispered as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “Thank you, all of you.”
“I propose a toast,” Alex said as he lifted his glass of wine. “To Maria, whom I have forgiven for leaving The Whits and moving onto better things.”
Maria tried to laugh as she felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her. Usually a few deep breaths would take care of things but this time the dizziness got worse and darkness enveloped her.
“Maria!” Liz cried as she saw her friend slump to the floor. Liz quickly rushed to her side and began checking her vital signs. “Her pulse is erratic, we need to call an ambulance!”
“Wait, Liz, something isn’t right,” Max said as he knelt beside Maria and put his hand on her head. “The doctors won’t be able help her, whatever is wrong with her is alien.”
“From the granolith chamber,” Isabel gasped. “Brody and Larek must have done something to her. We need to get the healing stones. We need to get Michael here with his. Max, I know you know where he is, call him now.”
Max nodded and stepped away from the group. Michael had managed to stay in contact with him the past three years but he hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone other than Max. Isabel and Tess had respected Michael’s decision, providing that Max always knew how to get in touch.
Max went into the back for some privacy but still within seeing and hearing distance of the group gathered around Maria. Quickly finding Michael’s number, he pushed the send button and prayed for Michael to pick up.
“Hello?”
“Michael, I need you to get back to Roswell. There’s no time to ask questions, just bring your healing stone and meet us at the granolith.”
“I’ll be there,” Michael said and then hung up the phone. He was always there for his friends, maybe not in the flesh but they were always in his heart. Quickly throwing on a clean shirt and jeans, Michael grabbed his healing stone from its hiding place and headed out the door.
Max headed back out to the dining room. “How is she?”
“Better,” Liz reported, “but she still not awake. Is Michael coming?”
“He’ll be here in a couple of hours.”
“What? Where is he?” Isabel demanded. “Tell me, Max.”
“El Paso. He’s been living there the whole time. He wanted to be close to home and yet far enough away so that he could have some space.”
Isabel nodded her head in understanding. “So what do we do now?”
“I told Michael to meet us out at the granolith. We can go there now and get ready.” Max bent down to pick up Maria. “Everyone go home and get your healing stones and then head out to the granolith.”
“Will it work, Max?” Liz asked as he cradled Maria in his arms.
“I hope so,” he said quietly as he headed out the door.
Everything was set up in the granolith chamber. A circle with lines had been drawn and everyone, with the exception of Jesse, was surrounding Maria. They were just waiting for the final person to arrive so they could begin.
“I’m here,” Michael yelled as he rushed into the chamber. “Who’s sick?” Glancing at the center of the circle he saw that it was Maria and his face paled and his steps faltered.
“We need you to step to the empty spot on the circle, Michael,” Max demanded. “Everything will be explained but we’re not sure how much time we have.”
Stepping to his place on the circle, Michael concentrated on healing Maria. His stone started to light up as he saw the other’s stones begin to glow also.
Inside Maria’s mind images were forming. One by one she hugged the people around the circle and with each hug she saw a memory of a time when they were together. Tess’s memory was of a high school sleepover. They’d all been wearing mud masks and singing Rod Stewart’s If You Think I’m Sexy. Kyle was next and he was remembering their conversation about Tess and his fear of ending up like his mom. Isabel came next and her memory was of seeing Maria in concert and how proud Isabel was of her friend. Alex’s memory was of just coming to New York and not knowing anyone. Maria had confidently told him, “We can make it here,” and those words kept him going through some rough times. Max remembered the fun time they had at Enigma on New Year’s. Liz’s memory came from the minutes before her wedding. Liz had been nervous but Maria’s chatter had quickly calmed her down. And then there was Michael. Michael was remembering everything. His mind was rapidly playing images of the times they had together and with the images came a feeling of deep, abiding love.
Maria gasped as she became aware of what was happening. She felt her friends’ love flowing through her and that gave her the strength to fight off the alien virus that had weakened her body. Feeling the virus leave her, she slowly opened her eyes. Michael was the first to reach her side.
“Are you okay?” He asked as he gently lifted her off the ground.
“Yes,” Maria said as she realized she felt better than she had in a long time. “Hi, Michael.”
“Hi, Maria,” he replied with his adorable half grin.
“What was wrong with her, Max?” Liz asked as everyone surrounded Michael and Maria.
“I think Brody gave her some sort of alien virus. I don’t know why but where else would she have gotten it from? None of us have access to anything like that.”
“He wanted to keep her close to him,” Michael said. “If she was dependent on him to keep the virus at bay then she would never leave him. And it’s not like we would be around to heal her, we were supposed to be dead.”
“But why did it take so long to show up?” Liz questioned, “It’s been three years.”
“Maybe it worked slowly and we were only seeing the last stages.” Max replied. “Have you noticed being sick a lot, Maria?”
Maria avoided looking at the others as she nodded. “Headaches, sore throats, nose bleeds, I thought it was because I was working so much. And I didn’t see the point in worrying anyone.”
“Oh, Maria,” Liz gasped. “You can worry us anytime.”
“I know, but… I can’t talk about this now. I want to go home.”
“Yeah, sure. You need to rest,” Liz said as she watched Michael lead the way out of the granolith chamber with Maria in his arms.
“Hey, Is and Tess, I’m sorry about the party,” Maria said as she was being settled into the backseat of Liz’s car.
“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Isabel said. “Maybe we can get together for dinner next week, all eight of us.”
“I would like that,” Maria said with a grin. “I’ve missed all of you so much, all of you.” Maria emphasized with a look at Michael.
“Maria,” Max said in a chastising tone. “We need to get you home.”
“I’ll see all of you soon.” Maria said as the car pulled away. She looked at the five people standing there, happy to see all of her friends again, but she was most happy to see the tall alien standing off to the side, his gaze burning into hers. More than anyone else, he could help her remember.
The next day Maria was already up and about, her exhaustion having disappeared, when she received a phone call from Todd.
“Hello?”
“Maria, it’s Todd. I really need to talk to you.”
“We have nothing to talk about. We’re done, my role with the band is done and I want nothing more to do with any of you.”
“Maria, think about what you’re saying. I know you love music, the audience, and the money. You’re not going to walk away from all of that.”
“You’re wrong, Todd. I do love music but not the music we’ve been making. And I do love the audience but the audience is your audience because we’re playing your music. And the money is great, but I have plenty of it now and I don’t need a whole lot to survive.”
“What about the band? You’re letting them all down.”
Maria gritted her teeth, Todd knew how to work her but this time she wasn’t falling for it. “Yeah, well, I don’t care anymore. They have money now, they have connections in the music business and they have a fan base, everyone will be fine. And besides, you can always get a new lead singer. Many a band has done so, why can’t you?”
“Come on, Maria, don’t do this to us. I love you.”
“Liar, you don’t love me. I think we both loved each other once but over the years I became your meal ticket and you became my object of loathing. I’m not doing this with you. My attorney is going to be sending you divorce papers within the week. Don’t contact me outside of my lawyer or I will get a restraining order so fast your head will spin. Think about how that’ll look for your career.” With a satisfying slam of the phone onto the receiver, Maria hung up on Todd.
“Good to hear that you’re feeling better.”
With a small scream, Maria whirled around to face the person behind her. “Michael! You scared the crap out of me!”
“Sorry, the door was open, I guess you didn’t hear me knock.”
“No, I was on the phone. I guess heard all of that.”
“Kinda hard not to hear. Are you okay?”
“Well, my marriage is over and I’ve left Existence but I feel better than I have in years.”
Michael grinned at Maria’s pronouncement. Her life should have been falling apart but instead she was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I’m happy for you. I actually came to talk about yesterday. I know you felt what I was feeling. I don’t want things to be awkward between us. I’ve decided that I’m moving back to Roswell and I hope that we can be friends.”
“I don’t want things to be awkward between us either. A lot of the reason I came back to Roswell is because I feel like I’ve lost myself. The last time I knew who I was and what I wanted was the last summer I was here. I want to get back to a normal life. I want to hang out with my friends and eat at The Crashdown and write music and play the occasional gig with The Whits. And I want to hang out with you. You were such a big part of my life and I don’t want to forget that or deny that any longer. I need you to be in my life, as a friend.”
“Okay, I’ll be here.”
“Great!” Maria impulsively hugged Michael. “Are you going back to work at The Crashdown?”
“Uh, no. I’m going to be working as a teaching assistant at Roswell Community College. I kinda got into astronomy back on Antar, I was always looking for Earth out there, and along the way I managed to learn a whole bunch about the stars and planets. I’m halfway finished with my Master’s degree. RCC needed a teaching assistant for their astronomy classes so I’m finishing my degree via a satellite program.”
Maria’s mouth was wide open. She always believed Michael was smart, just too engrossed in the whole business of being an alien to spend anytime in school.
“That’s great, Michael. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. I’ve gotta go, I need to meet with the astronomy professor and go over the syllabi. Why don’t we meet for lunch at The Crashdown tomorrow, say one-ish?”
“Sure, great.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Maria watched as Michael walked out the door. Her heart was thumping against her chest. First he’d come to her and been totally honest about his feelings and then he told her about his great job. Maria was impressed, she couldn’t help it, he finally seemed to be the mature man she’d seen hovering in waiting for the fiery-eyed teenager to take a step back.
Michael was whistling as he walked out of the house and to his motorcycle. He’d changed a lot in three years. He realized when he left Roswell that it was time to grow up. He chose to not immerse himself anymore in the role of being an alien. Yes, alien was what he was but not who he was and he finally realized that in El Paso. So he set out to make a normal life of himself. At first it was all for Maria but when he read about Maria’s marriage in Rolling Stone he realized the normal life he was creating would have to be for himself. Yes, he still loved Maria, Michael didn’t know if he would ever stop, but loving Maria didn’t preclude him from being happy. It was actually weird, Michael Guerin and happy in the same sentence. Yes, it was too weird. So, he wasn’t really happy. Satisfied was better word for what he felt. He was satisfied with how his life was going but he wasn’t happy. He’d spent eight years of his life without Maria and just three years with her. But even with all the alien business and his time with Hank, they had been the best years of his life because she was there. He didn’t realize it at the time, but Maria was always the brightness of his life. He ignored her, her hurt her over and over but she was always there to listen, to laugh, to kiss, and, most important, to just be there. He wanted her back in his life and he was overjoyed that she was letting him. This time he wasn’t going to screw it up, well, he was going to make a valiant effort not to screw it up.
***
The next day Michael was waiting at The Crashdown at promptly one o’clock. He said one-ish which would technically give Maria about a half-an-hour window but he was still tapping his fingers impatiently.
“Hi,” Maria said as she swept in. “Have you been waiting long?”
Michael immediately stopped tapping his fingers. “Nope, just got here. Let’s go ahead and order, I need to ask you something.”
Maria and Michael motioned the waitress over and gave her their order then Michael jumped right in with his question. “Why when we were in the granolith chamber couldn’t you talk about not telling anyone you were sick
“Oh, you remember that. Okay, it all goes back to after you guys left. At first things were really bad, none of us were functioning very well. But then slowly we got better, we went of to college, met other people, managed to date some. I thought we were all doing fine. When I came back to Roswell the summer you came back I found out that wasn’t true, none of us were doing well. It felt good to admit that things weren’t okay. But then I left again to follow my dream of becoming a singer and I felt like I had to put on that brave face again. I didn’t want anyone to know that I hated the music I was playing, I hated being so far away from Roswell and I hated my husband. If I told people that I was sick then I was afraid the whole story would come out.”
“Hmm, interesting.”
“Interesting? You sound as though you don’t believe me.”
“I…”
“Maria, Michael, hey!” Alex walked into The Crashdown and slid into the booth next to Maria. “So how’s it going? Are you okay?”
“So far so good,” Maria replied. “What are you doing here?”
“Can’t a guy stop buy to have lunch? Okay, that’s a lie. I have a date, she’s meeting me here in fifteen minutes so if you guys could skeedaddle so I won’t feel we’re being gawked at the whole time, that would be awesome.”
“Okay, I guess we’ll just get the food to go, Michael?”
“Yeah, we can go back to my place and finish our discussion.”
“That’s an excellent idea, my good man. Now run along in case she’s early.”
Maria and Michael quickly hurried out of the café with Maria explaining that Alex was always very antsy before a date with a girl he really liked. They settled into Maria’s car and made their way back to Michael’s apartment. As soon as Michael closed the door Maria jumped back in to where they’d left off their discussion.
“What did you mean by “hmm, interesting”?”
“Because what you said made no sense. You weren’t trying to be selfless by not telling anyone you were sick. Maria, I know you. I know you make a lot of sacrifices for the people you care about but you weren’t going to be hurting anyone by saying anything. So what was the real reason?”
“Ahh, the real Michael finally raises his ugly head. Fine, you want to know the truth? I didn’t say anything because the spotlight was finally on me. Do you realize that all through high school no one ever really paid attention to me? Seriously, I was the quirky best friend, the tag-along. I was only let in on your little secret because I had a bloody order pad to prove something wasn’t right. I wasn’t a great student, I wasn’t athletic, I liked to write songs and sing them, that was my talent. You all indulged that talent, coming to see me when I got the rare chance to play at one of the clubs, but none of you believed I would ever go anywhere with it. The only reason that Liz wanted me to go to Julliard was so that I’d have a degree to fall back on. But I made it, I was in the spotlight and I didn’t want to fall so I kept I quiet. Even now that I’ve walked away, it’s not because I failed but because I made a choice. So now you know, I’m weak, I like being the center of attention sometimes.” Maria shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
“Maria,” Michael said as he grabbed her by the shoulders. “You’re not weak, everyone likes to be the center of attention. All of us have proven that time and again. I just wanted you to be honest. You can’t keep things bottled up inside of you all the time, it’ll eat you alive.” Michael pulled Maria in for a hug, running soothing hands down her back as he felt the tension leave her body. “Better now?” He asked as he pulled back. Michael hadn’t planned on being this close to Maria, it was too soon but when he looked into her eyes all he wanted to do was kiss her and so he did. At first Maria let him but then she pulled away.
“Michael, I can’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” Michael said as he silently cursed himself.
“I’d better go, anyway. I supposed to pick up my mom at her shop. So I’ll see you.”
“Yeah, bye.”
“Bye.” Maria walked out with her lips still tingling from the kiss. Okay, it was a nice kiss, but she wasn’t ready for anyone to be kissing her. The physical aspect of she and Todd’s relationship had diminished soon after their marriage and Maria missed being touched. But she wasn’t ready to jump into anything with Michael, there was too much history there for her not to feel cautious. Besides, she was still married and she was not the type of person to commit adultery.
“So fess up, Maria, what is up with you and Michael?”
Maria paused from her task of painting her toenails. They were at Liz and Max’s place hanging out on Saturday night. Max and the guys had taken Kyle out to celebrate his engagement to Tess. Liz and Maria had decided that they would take the time to hang out by themselves, a chance they hadn’t had since Maria had returned a month ago.
“What do you mean?” Maria asked innocently.
“Come on, Maria. You’ve been spending almost every night with him. What have you been doing?”
“Oh, that. Well, we’ve mostly been talking about the past. I’ve been dealing with all that alien stuff that I never dealt with. You know, the fear and uncertainty. And I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter anymore. They’re my friends, and them being alien is just a part of that.”
“Good, I’m glad. What else have you been doing?”
Maria laughed as Liz wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Nothing, well, he kissed me twice. Once right after I came back and once last night.”
“Maria! Does this mean you’re getting back together?”
“No, no, well… Well, it’s nice being with him again. Part of me just wants to jump back in there and be with him but part of me is still scared. It’s not even about Michael anymore, it’s about me not being sure I’m ready for a relationship.”
“Since when have you been afraid of anything? You were the first one to jump into the alien abyss when you kissed Michael. You didn’t look back from that. You went to the biggest city in the world and you survived. You’ve been everywhere and done so much, how you can you be afraid of being with Michael?”
“I’m afraid of screwing it up again. We both made so many mistakes when we were young, but what if Michael is the one I’m supposed to be with? What if we’re supposed to be together but I screw things up and we never find a way back? I can’t deal with not having Michael in my life.” Maria said as the tears filled her eyes.
“But what’s better, keeping him at arms length or holding him in your arms?”
Maria wiped the tears from her cheeks. I don’t know. I wish I did know what was right but I don’t anymore.”
“If you love him, you’ll know.”
The next night Maria was hanging out at Michael’s place, again. “So how was the party?” Maria called into the kitchen where Michael was making spaghetti.
“It was okay,” Michael said as he came out of the kitchen wiping his hands on his jeans. “I can’t drink and I’m not really into strippers so it was kinda dull. But, Alex is in love with his new girlfriend. He was so drunk I had to take away his phone to prevent him from calling her and proposing.”
“Would it have been so wrong if he had?” Maria wondered.
“He’s only known her for a month.”
“I didn’t know you very long when I was ready to give up my entire life and follow you.” Maria reminded him.
“But you didn’t.”
“I would have. I would have gone anywhere for you.” Maria said as she looked up into his eyes.
“Would have,” Michael questioned, “What about now?”
“I would now. There’s this feeling I’ve been having about home. I used want to run away from it. I thought Roswell was the home I was running away from, but I was running away from you, you’re my home. I came back to Roswell in hopes that my home would be here, that you would be here. You were the one who was calling me back. I love you.”
Michael smiled at her announcement. “I love you, too.”
A few months later, Maria had decided she was ready to play her music in a local Roswell club. Her friends and family had turned out in full force.
“Thank you,” Maria smiled as another raucous applause died down. “I’d like to take time to welcome my family and friends to the show, they’ve supported me and loved me and I’m so grateful for all of them. My mom and dad, my brother Kyle and his new wife, Tess, my best friend, Liz and her husband, Max, they’re expecting their first child in about seven months. My other best friend, Alex and his fiancé’ Beth and my very good friend Isabel and her husband, Jesse are also here. And last but not least, Michael, who is doing me the honor of marrying me tomorrow. This is a song I wrote for you when we were apart. It’s called Breathe.”
I played the fool today
And I see us vanishing into the crowd, long for home again
But home is a feeling I buried in you
I’m alright I’m alright, It only hurts when I breathe.
And I can’t ask for things to be still again
No I can’t ask for you
To offer the world through your eyes
Longing for home again
But home is a feeling I buried in you
I’m alright I’m alright, It only hurts when I breathe
I’m alright I’m alright, It only hurts when I breathe
My window through which nothing hides
And everything sings
I’m counting the signs and cursing the miles in between
But home is a feeling I buried in you
That I buried in you
I’m alright I’m alright, It only hurts when I breathe
I’m alright I’m alright, It only hurts when I breathe
When I breathe
It only hurts when I breathe
When I breathe
It only hurts when I breathe
“You were wonderful,” Michael whispered in her ear after the night was over. “I especially liked that last song. That’s pretty much how I felt when we were apart, too.”
“So, Spaceboy,” Maria said as she linked her arms around his neck, “Are you going to promise me that we’re never going to be separated again?”
“He can do that tomorrow,” Max said as he grabbed Michael from Maria. “Tonight he’s at my place.”
“Tomorrow,” Michael whispered, “We’ll be together and then we’ll be together forever.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
THE END