Chapter Twenty Five The drive to the hotel went by fast, I don't know if it was the anticipation of beating the hell out of Liz or the knowing that Michael would be cotton candy coated later on. Either way, I had two things to look forward to. I wish I could say the same for everyone else. Max. As I'm sitting on his lap, already feeling tremendously awkward at this situation, now I was going to have to tell him that his fiancé was a lying, traitorous little bitch. Not going to be fun. He shifted underneath me and placed his hands on my leather-clad hips. "Do you mind?" Max asked. "I don't have anywhere else to put them except here or in your lap." I shook my head. Did I mind? Well, yeah! I think there were at least a million other places he could have put his hands besides on me, but what the hell? Michael was sitting right there and Max's world was getting ready to be turned upside down, so a little touchy feely on my hips? Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Michael parked the car and we piled out, I would almost swear that Max touched my ass as I got off of him, but I could be mistaken. I mean, I have been known to be wrong before. I took Michael's hand and pulled him aside before entering the front doors. "How should we do it?" I whispered. "Kill her?" I rolled my eyes. "No, how should we bring this up. Should we tell Max, Isabel and Tess now or wait until I confront Liz?" "Are you sure about her, Maria?" He touched my face. I nodded. "Yeah, she knows she's busted too." I briefly told him about Alex and the conversations with him. "See, I knew there was a reason I never liked her." "Let's go to the room and see what develops, okay?" He kissed my lips. I smiled and once again thanked my lucky stars that we were all alive and well and kicking. Oh God, my leg felt great! I could do some serious kicking now. Woo-hoo! We caught up with the other four at the elevator doors that they were holding for us. Kyle was still holding Tess's hand. Sweet. "You know," Max stood close to me. "You really do deserve the title of captain, Maria. You showed some real bravery and leadership in there." "Thanks Max," I smiled and felt sorry for him. "You weren't so bad yourself. The whole light thing? Nice." He shrugged and blushed. "I hated waiting outside not knowing what was going on. It was the first thing I could come up with. Even though I did run away like a little girl, again." I touched his arm and smiled. "Hey, it got your sister out and for that I'll always be thankful." "Not that I wanted out, mind you." Isabel looped her arm through mine. "I wanted to stand at your side and fight until the end." I smiled at the woman who I once considered the all-American normal human woman. She was a fighter, just like me. She was brave, fearless, and amazing. I was proud to have her as a friend. "You were there, Isabel. You were. Couldn't have done it without you. Not without any of you." "Okay Maria," Kyle laughed. "You are a lot of things, but modest?" He laughed harder and I punched him lightly in the stomach. "Modesty is not exactly high on the list!" I rolled my eyes as the elevator stopped and got a sick feeling in my gut. I had tried to block out the whole 'no one's answering in the rooms' thing and had totally succeeded until now. I swear, if that Liz did anything to Alex, I really would kill her. I noticed Kyle had left Tess's side as we walked down the hall. He was now at mine and I was glad. I didn't ever want to have to walk alone again. I held my breath as Michael opened up the door to our room. I saw Alex and I let out the breath I was holding. Thank God, he was okay. "Isabel!" He jumped out of the chair and bolted to her. We watched as he smothered her with kisses. Talk about sweet. "Thank God! Is it over?" Isabel looked to me and I shook my head. I ignored her questioning eyes and scanned the room looking for that Liz. "Where is she?" I directed my question at Alex. He motioned towards the bathroom. Ha! So she decided to stay and face the music, huh? I ignored the looks from the ones who didn't know and walked to the bathroom door and pounded on it. "Liz! Get out here, right fucking now!" "Maria!" Max was at my side. "What the hell are you doing?" Kyle took Max's arm and pulled him away despite the arguing from him. I was on a mission and I didn't have time to deal with Max being a crybaby. The time for that was much later. I didn't risk looking at Isabel; but I did have the feeling that she might already know. We both had suspicions before. She was silent, as was Tess. I pounded on the door again and heard water running. "Liz! Get your ass out here right fucking now or I will drag you out!" I stepped back as the door opened. Didn't want to be directly in the line of fire in case she decided to pelt me with hotel-sized soap. She stood in the doorway and if I didn't know she was a traitorous bitch, I would have felt sorry for her. Her normally silky hair looked greasy and dirty. Her complexion was mottled with red and her eyes were puffy. Good. She stepped in front of me. Without thinking I raised my arm to her neck and slammed her into the wall beside the open door. She didn't try to fight me. I rammed my knee between her legs and she was immobile. I could have snapped her neck within seconds, but I didn't. I heard Max in back of me as Kyle tried to hold him back. I heard another noise and knew Michael had joined in. "I'm sorry," she croaked as tears began to fall again. "Sorry?" I yelled in her face and slammed her head against the wall. "You're fucking sorry? Michael and Tess could be dead, we all could be dead right now and all you can say is that you're sorry?" "You don't understand," she looked past me at what I assumed was Max. "I had to." I slammed her back into the wall again. My arms were vibrating with excitement? Fear? No, I think it was anger. I looked into those pretty almond shaped eyes and wanted to rip them out. I wanted to break her nose and twist her neck for everything she'd done. I wanted to kill her for putting Michael through whatever the fuck he went through. I wanted to to shoot her the same way I got shot. I wanted her to be afraid. I wanted her to feel the fear that I had felt all those hours of not knowing if Michael was alive. Not knowing if we were going to stay alive or if I was going to get everyone killed. "I should kill you," I whispered in her ear. I think she shrugged. Man, no fun to kill someone who's ready to die. I knocked her head into the wall again before I felt hands on my arms. I turned around, it was Isabel. Oh no, she wasn't going to tell me not to, was she? "Liz," Isabel leaned in next to me and I saw a side of her I didn't think I'd ever see. "You turned in Tess and Michael." Her breath was hot against my cheek and I was glad I wasn't on the other end of violent-Isabel. She was scary. "You turned in the only two other people like Max and me to a place that was going to turn them into guinea pigs. To a place who would have figured out about Max and me and done the same thing. To a place that would have killed us all. I'm standing behind Maria no matter what. She decides to kill you? I won't try to stop her." "Isabel-" Liz's voice was breaking as tears flowed down her face. "Shut up. We were friends Liz, and now? We're not." Isabel stepped back and stood next to her brother who had quit fighting. I looked over my shoulder at Max and saw his heart breaking. Man. "Max." Liz whispered. I shook my head, turned back to her and met her eyes. "Why? Why did you do it? Why did you risk everyone's lives?" She shook her head and I knocked it back into the wall. "Tess, Michael, Kyle, Isabel and Max. Aside from Michael, they were your friends. You risked all their lives and if it hadn't been for some really fucking good luck they'd all be dead. Including myself, but I know you weren't worried about me." "I was," she nodded. "I was worried about everyone." Riiiight. I smiled and if it looked even half as evil as it felt I would have been scared. "I stayed here and waited," her voice was shaking. "I waited after Alex told you that you were right about me. I didn't run away and I could have." Okay, she had me there. Not excused, but almost worth listening to the explanation. "Why?" "Could you let up on my neck a little?" She asked. "I want to explain but you're hurting me." I thought it over and released her. But one false move and she wouldn't even know what hit her. She rubbed her neck and I rolled my eyes. She looked at Max and I was almost giddy that he looked away. Ha! "When you and Michael left Roswell, I was glad." She looked from me to Michael and back at me. Man, I hoped she wasn't going to tell this whole story just to me. "I was so glad you were gone. I was so jealous of you Maria." Me? "I hated the way everyone looked at you. I hated the way Max looked at you. Max didn't want either of you to go; I knew that. I knew why you had to go and I could have cared less." At least she was being honest. Not exactly scoring any Brownie points with me, though. "So then you were gone and all was back to normal. Well, as normal as anything ever was." She laughed and it was bitter. "Liz…?" Max said from across the room. I could hear the resounding shock and pain in his voice. "I'm sorry Max," she looked past me. "I never meant for anyone to get hurt." "When did they contact you, or did you contact them?" I asked. I was ready to get this show on the road. "A few months after you were gone." She admitted. "I got a phone call. They said they wanted to discuss you and Michael. I freaked out and hung up. Then I got a few more over the next few weeks. Then nothing. About three weeks before Tess was taken, I was at my parent's restaurant closing up. I went to my car and they were waiting for me." "Who?" Michael walked closer to us. She shook her head. "Two guys in black suits." I looked at Michael. "Cartoon characters?" He nodded. "They said some thing's to me that they couldn't possibly know. About Tess, Michael and Kyle. They thought I was an alien!" She would have laughed if she weren't already thinking I was going to kill her. "I tried to convince them I wasn't and I guess I succeeded. They started questioning me on everything and I got scared. Then they threatened my parents." "How?" I asked and hoped it was good. "They had a computer with them and it showed my parents. Everything about my parents. They were going to kill them if I didn't help." "Would they have?" I asked Michael. He nodded and raised an eyebrow at me. Damn. "They were graphic and I was scared." "So you turned over Tess and Michael without even blinking?" Kyle joined the interrogation. Yay Kyle! "I didn't know what else to do. They were already convinced it was them, anyway." I was so not liking her defense. "So that makes it okay?" "How could you Liz?" Max said softly. "Why didn't you come to me? We could have stopped this before it went so far. Before you turned on everyone." He spat out the last part bitterly. Oh yeah, Max and I were on the same team now. Big time. "I didn't know what to do." The tears were back. "I'm sorry." "Do you know what they did to me?" Tess asked. Oh God, I had almost forgotten she was in the room. "They tortured me. They messed with my head to try to get me to turn the others in and I stayed strong. I would have died with the secret." "I'm not like you!" Liz yelled. "You're right, you're not." Tess shook her head. I could feel Liz's life falling apart around her. "I couldn't lose…" She looked to Max. "I couldn't lose Max." "But it was okay for Tess and Michael to be subjected to Sections experiments?" Isabel asked. Liz shook her head. "No. They knew so much already. Rena, that's how they knew. She kept them informed on everything right up to the end. They knew who she was following, she had seen more than we knew about." Not exactly a news flash. I had gathered that a couple of days ago. I cocked my head to the side and waited to see if Liz was even going to attempt to dig her way out of this. "When I came to DC I had their plans, but I didn't follow them completely. I added a few things to help you guys." She was beginning to talk faster and I wanted to ram my elbow into her mouth. "I helped you get in with what they told me, but not the way. I knew they were going to ambush you, but they promised they'd only take Michael!" "I should kill you," I stepped towards her and clocked her. A mean right hook right across that face. "I was scared." She wiped her eyes and touched her jaw; she was beginning to sob. I wanted to tell her she knew nothing about being afraid. "You don't know what fear is!" Tess yelled. Rock on Tess! "You don't know what it's like to be afraid until someone strips you, pricks you with needles everywhere that there's skin. Talks about you in front of you like you're some type of animal and you know you'll never see the outside world again. That's fear Liz!" I watched as Kyle put his arm around Tess and held her while she cried into his shoulder. After all that she had been through, I think she deserved a little crying and comfort. Damn that Liz! "I'm sorry," Liz said and she did mean it, I could tell that. Did it count? Not in my book; and since I was the only one with a book? Fuck her. "Let's go Liz," Max walked towards her and motioned to the door. Oh. My. God. Was he seriously considering staying with her? After all she'd done to the others? Liz's eyes lit up and she nodded. She walked to the open door and stepped out into the hall. Max closed the door on her, locked it, and looked at us. He shrugged. I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, too." He said and I got a bad feeling. "I'm sorry for Liz. This could have been avoided if she'd come to me first." Okay. I could deal with this. Max sat down on one of the beds as a new mood took form in the room. The new mood of survival. We did it. We beat Section and lived to tell the tale. We kicked its ass! Isabel sat next to her brother and picked up his hand. She spoke quietly into his ear and I hope she was telling him everything was going to be all right. It was now. I knew it was. "Okay," Kyle let go of Tess and clapped his hands. "So who wants to hear about Maria's heroism?" I blushed and shook my head as hands went up around the room. We all sat on the two beds and Kyle and I took turns telling our story of the rescue. I was proud. I was proud to be sitting with this group of people knowing that I gave something back. Michael squeezed my hand and I squeezed back. I didn't think I was ever going to let him out of my sight again. I looked at Tess sitting next to Kyle trying to cover herself in his shirt and smiled. I walked across the room to my suitcase and got her out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and handed them to her. She scuttled off to change while Kyle relived the horror of having to carry me up the stairs. When Tess came back out of the bathroom I heard the hitch in Kyle's voice when he saw her. She had pulled her hair up on her head and in my clothes, she looked damn cute. I think she was self conscious about not having a bra and such a tight shirt, but hey, that's all I had and it was definitely working for her. We told stories and let our adrenaline wear down for a couple of hours. Max was quiet for most of the time, but I guess that was expected. I didn't know what he was going to do now, about Liz, but since he was related to Isabel; I trusted him to make the right decision. Alex called the front desk and got another room, for Kyle and Tess. She was such a lucky girl. At the door she hugged me and kissed my cheek. "Thank you Maria. Thank you for getting me out." Her eyes were wet. I pushed her away otherwise I would have started crying too. I overheard Isabel telling Max to come to their room; good. We parted ways with our friends and promised to meet up for dinner. After dinner though? No one was interrupting my fantasy. I watched as Michael went to work on the laptop and I slid off my ruined leather pants. I was exhausted. All this intrigue and alien shit really takes a toll on you. I took off my ripped shirt and admired myself in the mirror. I was so whole again. No scars, no battle wounds, nothing. I was just plain old Maria. I saw Michael in back of me and watched as he slid his hands around my waist. "Thank you Maria." I shrugged as the tears fell. Damn! I turned and hugged him feeling his heartbeat next to mine. Chapter Twenty Six I broke away from Michael and shook my head. There was something I had to do first. I let him watch me with those inquisitive eyes as I got dressed. Jeans and one of his button-down shirts was good for what I had to do. I didn't even bother with shoes. "I'll be right back." I said over my shoulder as I walked out of the safety of our room. I padded down the hall and stopped in front of a door. I took a deep breath and then banged on it. I waited and after three seconds I banged on it again. Patience is so not a virtue for me. "Liz!" I wasn't quite done with young Miss Parker yet. "Are you going to beat me up again?" She called from behind the door. I rolled my eyes. "Maybe." Patient? No. Honest? Yes. "Just open up the fucking door!" I heard her slide the chain back and as soon as she turned the knob I pushed my way in. I looked at her startled and bruised face. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail that made her look like she was about twelve. Her eyes were still red. I guessed they would probably stay like for awhile. A long while. "What do you want?" She asked entirely too gruffly for my liking. I looked over her shoulder and saw she was packing. I walked to the suitcase and dug out a bra, a pair of underwear, jeans and a sweatshirt. "For Tess. You don't mind, do you?" She shook her head and tossed me a pair of socks and tennis shoes. "They should fit, we wear about the same size." I nodded and set down the pile of clothes on a table. I put my hands on my hips and looked at that Liz. I mean I really looked at her. "How could you do it?" "I already explained it to you." She resumed packing and I felt like I was intruding. So what. "Explain it again, I don't think I liked the other explanation." She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I was contacted by Section and told what to do…" "Or your parents bit the dust, right?" I shook my head at her. "Right. That's all there was to it. I was a bitch. I was an ass. I turned over Tess and Michael without blinking." Liz threw her arms in the air. "End of story." "Okay, that's a good start. Now tell me the rest." "I already-" "Don't fucking lie to me." I sat in one of the straight-backed chairs and crossed my legs. "What else. What else happened?" That Liz let out a deep breath and I knew I was on to something. It was just one of those little nagging things at the back of my brain. "Liz." I prodded. "It was bad, Maria." New tears rolled down her face. "I didn't want to, I swear I didn't want to tell them anything. It didn't matter how much I didn't like you; I still wasn't going to hand over anyone to them! They forced me!" "How?" "My parents. They were going to kill them. They showed me pictures of a couple who resembled my parents, kind of. A man and a woman and what they did to them. Then they showed me these horrible pictures of what they did to people who didn't cooperate with them and I was scared." "Okay, fear factor. But you said before that they thought you were an alien. How did you convince them you weren't?" I leaned forward and wondered if Section really did stoop to the level of low class visual terror. She cocked her head to the side. "I just did." "You're going to have to do better than that." I was pushing her, but I didn't care. "I told them I wasn't one." She shrugged. "Oh, sure. I can see that now. You just said 'hey there Section, I know you just showed me pictures of dead people and by the way, I'm not an alien.' And they totally excused you, right? Bullshit." "Leave me alone Maria." "No. Tell me the rest Liz. Tell me now." I kept the calm in my voice on maximum overdrive while hiding the anger. "They threatened Max. They said they'd kill him with my parents and leave me all alone if I didn't cooperate. Okay? I couldn't let them have Max!" She cried. "How did you convince them?" I said it slowly to make sure she understood my fucking question. "I gave them…" She started crying harder. "I gave them Michael." Michael. She gave them my husband. God, I really hated her. "What would you have done?" Her voice rose and I wondered if I was going to have to smack her again. I hoped so. "What would you have done if the only person you'd ever loved was in danger? What would you have done if you were given the choice of saving the only man you've ever loved or surrendering someone you didn't even know?" Okay, she had me on that one. For a second. "What about Tess? You've known Tess for a very long time." "What's that called?" Liz smiled. Oh. God. She smiled. "A casualty of war?" This little cold-hearted bitch was actually going to sit there across from me and call Tess a casualty of war? She was so getting slapped. "I had to Maria, I had to do it to save Max. Wouldn't you have done the same?" "Turn over my friends for Michael?" I thought about Kyle and Isabel and shook my head. "No. I would have done everything I could to make sure they never got put in danger to start out with. But I'm just like that." "So, if you were given the choice to either keep Michael safe for at least awhile or turn in say…Max, you wouldn’t do it? Max, the one who gets on your nerves and stares at your boobs all the time. That Max. My Max." So she noticed the whole tit-staring thing Max did, huh? "No. I would still find a way. I would have told someone. This could have been avoided Liz. This whole thing could have been avoided, but because of you, people almost died." I tried to keep my voice even but it was hard when all I really wanted to do was pop her in the face again. "I'm not like you, Maria." No shit. "You're right." I stood up and picked the clothes and shoes for Tess up. "I still have friends." I let that hang there and walked out of the room with a casual slam of the door behind me. Okay, so Liz really was just evil. She turned over Michael to save Max and apparently tried to get rid of Tess just for fun. A casualty of war. What a bitch! I knocked on the door almost at the end of the hall and Kyle answered. Yay, right room! "Maria," he stepped into the hall and hugged me. "Hi." "Hi yourself," I handed him the clothes. "For Tess. They're Liz's, but it's all I could come up with. She okay?" He nodded and smiled. "She's in the shower." "Yeah, that's where I'm headed. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?" "What about Liz? What are we going to do with her?" Kyle whispered. Do? Oh, shit. I didn't know. I think her punishment would be just. "I don't think we really have to do anything. She's alone now Kyle. She has no one. She has nothing but the memories of what it was like to have friends." Kyle nodded and went back inside his room. I whistled as I walked down the hall to my room. The room I shared with my husband. I had only been gone less than ten minutes, but already I could feel my heart rate quicken. I waited outside the door trying to come up with a reason why Michael wouldn't be on the other side. Why he would be gone and how hard it would be for me to get him back. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Michael was there, with a towel around his waist and a smile on his face. He wasn't anywhere but where he was supposed to be, with me. I ran to him and hugged him. The heat from the shower radiated through me. "I thought you'd be gone." I whispered holding back tears of unknown origin. "No, Sweet Maria. I'll always be here with you." He kissed my lips. * * * I regained my composure and took a shower while Michael worked on one of the laptops. I don't know what he was doing exactly except I figured it probably had a lot to do with our future. Something I really didn't want to know about before a shower. He mentioned something about housekeeping and I bet he wasn't talking about a maid showing up with a bottle of Windex. After the shower left me devoid of feeling and my mind was numb, I laid down on one of the beds and fell asleep listening to the tap tap of Michael typing and thinking about dinner. I was starving. I drifted off to sleep and that's when I had the first nightmare I'd had in months. The nightmare that left me speechless and afraid. Shaking and crying. Unable to form a sentence and scared to try. I rocked back and forth on the mattress until I felt strong arms around me. Safe. Chapter Twenty Seven Michael's arms held me tight as I tried to shake off the remnants of a nightmare I knew would come back. After last night, I'd be an idiot to think I wouldn't have some repercussions. In my dream, I was alone. Truly alone. Michael was gone and I spent my nightmare trying to find him and I never did. I was running and screaming and tripping and falling. But I could never find him. My heart was still beating rapidly when I looked into the depths of his eyes. "I had a nightmare." He nodded and smiled. "I know." "I don't think I ever want you out of my sight, okay?" My voice was shaky and I hated it. "At least not for awhile, okay?" He kissed the top of my head. "I promise Maria, I'm not going anywhere." I believed him. "What time is it?" "Dinner time?" He smiled and I was so in love with him. I got out of bed and stood on shaky legs taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Michael was in front of me. He was right freakin' there and I believed him when he said he wasn't going anywhere. I believed every word he told me. He watched as I changed out of his now wrinkled shirt and into a different one. I had to wear something of his tonight. After everything we'd gone through in the last twenty-four hours I had to have all things Michael around me, on me and later on, in me. "Did you get done what you needed to?" I asked as I tied the shirttails underneath my breasts. He nodded and licked his lips. Yum. "Actually I did. I made a few calls and I have some things to take care of here…" "Here, like in DC?" My heart began to pound again. Not with utter fear this time but with the realization that I didn't think we were headed back to the beach anytime soon. "Here, like in Section." He cringed. "We're not leaving are we?" He didn't answer me at first; but I could understand why. I knew what this meant to Michael. Okay, I didn't know exactly, but I had a pretty good idea. Kind of like every time a Braves game was on… "Can we change our last name to Guerin?" I asked with a coy smile. See, I could give a little. "You know, since you're officially back and we're alive." "I'd like that Maria," he came to me and embraced me. Never could get enough Michael smell. "Are you…?" God, the poor man couldn't even say it out loud. "I'm good Michael." I nodded to reassure him as well as myself. "I can deal. I can deal with a lot." "But Section?" "Like the way your father ran it?" I smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. "Just like that; but I don't have to-" "Bullshit." I interrupted him. "You do have to. He named you successor and so help me God, you shall success!" "I want to clean it up. I want to bring it back to where it should be." He was nodding now and the look of excitement in this new endeavor was making me hot. "I want to keep my father's name clean and untarnished. I want, God, I want so much and I haven't even asked you what you want." I smirked and thought about cotton candy. "I just want you happy, Michael." He nodded and as far as I knew, everything was set in stone. Looks like Michael Guerin was back. The man in black was going to run the show and he'd have his trusty little sidekick with him. Always. I grabbed his hand. "Let's go meet the others, okay?" * * * We arrived in the restaurant downstairs and I immediately smiled at Tess. I couldn't help it. For such a petite little thing, she was strong as nails. I gave her full credit for surviving Section and not leaving me behind. "Hi guys!" I waved and laughed at myself. I felt so stupid. Here we are right off this big bad adventure through Sectionland, and I was waving and feeling like a dork. Aw…Fuck it. I didn't care anymore. "Maria," Max stood and walked to me and surprised me with a hug. His voice was wet in my ear. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" I nodded and followed him back out into the lobby. We sat on a cushy couch and I waited. "I talked to Liz, this afternoon, after you did." He said and dug a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket. He ignored the 'No Smoking' signs and lit up. I nodded and waited. After a minute of silence I prodded with an inept throat clearing. "Sorry," he smiled, but it wasn't a happy one. "I love her. Part of me hates her right now, but I still love her." I nodded and inhaled the smoke. Even though I doubted I'd ever smoke again, I would always love the smell of it. "She did all that for me," he said and shook his head. "I'm like torn. I love her for trying to save me but I hate her for the rest of it. You know?" No, I just pretty much hated her for the whole thing. "Why didn't she come to you? She knows what you're capable of. She has to know what the four of you together could do." That nagging was going on again. "Why would she just let this prized secret go?" Max shook his head slowly as if he was coming to terms with what I'd told him. "She should have known. I mean, she did know." Max stood and started to pace. Damn! "We talked about how strong we would be if we were together. Damn it! Why did she do it? To get Tess out of the picture? To get rid of you and Michael? Hell, you weren't even there!" I stood and wanted to pace with him, but I knew we'd look entirely too stupid, so I just stood. "What did she have to gain?" "Gain?" Max stood still and turned around to face me very slowly. So slowly that I wanted to grab his arms and tell him to hurry the fuck up. "Max?" He was making me nervous. "Max?" He didn't answer me but bolted through the lobby towards the stairs. I waited a half a beat and followed. Damn! All I wanted was dinner and cotton candy; I so did not want to be chasing aliens through the fucking hotel. I followed him up the stairs and marveled again at the job Isabel had done on me. I felt great! "Max!" I yelled to him, but he kept going. I followed him out of the stairwell on to our floor and down the hall. He stopped in front of Liz's door and waited for me to catch up. "What the fuck are you doing?" I panted. "She didn't have anything to gain!" Max exclaimed and I thought about thwacking him in the forehead. "Liz had nothing to gain and everything to lose." "Yeah…" I wasn't getting it. "Maria," Max's eyes were blazing. "Liz Parker had nothing to gain from this. She lost her friends and she lost me. Why? What would make someone do something like that?" I shrugged. I had no fucking clue to what he was talking about. But if we didn't clear this up soon, I wouldn't mind getting an appetizer. "She was scared, Max. She thought she was going to lose you." Duh. Been over this already Mr. Evans. "There's more Maria, there has to be more. She wouldn't have done it because they threatened her parents…" He looked thoughtfully at the door. "Her parents." Oh shit. Here we go with Mr. Cryptic. "Her parents, Maria! That's why she did it!" "Okay Max, you're speaking in code now and I left my fucking decoder ring back in my room. English. Please." He ignored me and knocked on the door. No response. I waited and actually began tapping my foot. Max held his hand over the door and opened it. I shrugged and followed him inside. The room was empty. Liz Parker was gone. I followed Max to the bed and watched as he picked up a piece of paper from the pillow. A note. Of course it was a note. "Well, read it." I urged. Frankly I could care less whatever Liz had to say. I just wanted dinner. Max looked at me and nodded. "It's addressed to me. 'Max, I'm sorry. I did what I did because I didn't have a choice. I wanted to keep you alive and I had to help my parents. I got money for information on Michael. They really only wanted him at first, and I knew how to get him back here. I could almost taste the integrity on him and Maria both. Sometimes it made me sick to my stomach. I could never turn you in, or Isabel, but it was easy for Michael and Tess. That might make me a bad person, I don't know. The money went to my parents, they were about to declare bankruptcy and I had to help. I couldn't let them lose the diner. I wish now I would have made a different decision, but I did what I had to do for my parents. I'll always love you Max. I knew you'd figure it out and I bet Maria's with you. My love, Liz.' Wow." Max shook his head. "Her parents. Money. She did it for money. She helped them for money." I was floored. Money? Money makes the world go around. Money makes a crazed man sane and a sane man crazed. Money is the root of all evil. For her parents she gave up two people to the enemy. Liz Parker had better never show her face around me again, this time I swear I'll rip it off. "Money," I spit the word out. For money I almost lost Michael. For money Tess was tortured. "Money." Right now it was the dirtiest word in the world. "Maria," Max was beside me and I saw wetness in his eyes. I swear if Mr. Tit-watcher started bawling I was so out of here. "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry." I nodded. He was sorry. It wasn't his fault, but he was going to end up paying a price as well. "Well, now we know the truth." I nodded. "Do me a favor Max. I know we don't always get along." I saw him smile. "Okay, we never get along. Anyway, the next person you date. Let me screen her first, okay?" He nodded and smiled. I smiled back at him and was glad I was able to do it. This wasn't his fault. I placed all the blame on one person. One person who literally sold out her friends. I chucked him on the shoulder, yes, I chucked him. "Let's keep this between us, okay? The others don't need to know." "Really?" "Yeah," I sighed. "Life is hard enough for you anyway Max. I don't want you to be treated differently because your fiancée was a selfish, backstabbing money hungry little bitch. Okay?" "When you put it that way…" he smiled and shredded her note. That Liz Parker was officially history. We returned to the restaurant and more tales of Section were told. Michael kept quiet about his plans of taking his place in Section, so, I kept quiet about it too. I figured I'd tell Kyle and Isabel in the morning. I was relieved to see the past days events not leaving scars on anyone. Not visible scars at least. I didn't know everything Tess went through, I'm not sure if I really wanted to know. Michael would tell me his experience in his own way at the right time. Alex was still trying to explain computers to me and how he was able to access the information we had needed. Yeah, maybe in another life I'd understand all that. Or at least after a computer class. Or ten. Isabel was perfect. Strong and beautiful and my friend. Kyle was Kyle and I loved him for it. All was good in the world. All was good in my world. Maria soon-to-be Guerin was a happy woman. A happy woman who was done with dinner and ready to go. I whispered in Michael's ear and she stood without hesitation. We said our goodnights and I dragged Michael to the front doors. "Where are we going?" "Just follow me," I led him to the parking lot and we got in the car. "Go back towards Section. Just trust me." He did as he was told. As we neared the carnival I told him to stop and wait for me. I ran across the street and looked frantically for the cotton candy vendor. Score! I bolted over to him and bought myself seven bags of the sugary, fluffy goodness. The vendor put them all in a big black trash bag for me and I darted back to the waiting car and got in. I tossed the bag in the backseat. "What is that?" Michael pointed over the back of his seat. "Dessert." I smiled wickedly and licked my lips. Chapter Twenty Eight Michael didn't question me again on the bag of 'dessert' in the backseat. I guess he learned sometimes its better not to question the Maria. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I would have tried. Fantasies of cotton candy were streaming through me and I was giddy. I was actually giddy. The drive back to the hotel flew by, I think Michael was just as anxious as I was and he didn't even know why. But he knew me well enough by now to expect the unexpected. He parked, for some reason I think he has an aversion to valet parking, and I grabbed the bag. I caught him staring with those wide questioning eyes at the lightness of the bag I slung over my shoulder. We walked through the hotel looking like the typical drug dealers. Me with the bag and Michael, the man in black. Fuck it, I didn't care as long as no one stopped us. There would be no delay. We arrived at the room and Michael let us in. I dropped the bag on one of the beds and it landed with a little "poof". "What's in the bag?" He finally asked as I took off my boots and jeans. "I told you," I rolled my eyes playfully," dessert. Get naked." He laughed and did as he was told. I was out of my shirt in like half a second and I watched as he took a little longer to get naked. I don't think I'll ever tire of watching him strip. That chest. Oh God, I can never get enough of that chest. He stood and waited for instructions, gotta love that. I glanced to the lights and decided we had entire too many on. I turned off a lamp and tried to figure out if we had a dim switch on the overhead. I didn't need total light, but I still wanted to see. My head involuntarily cocked to one side as the confused dog stance came over me when the lights dimmed. I turned and looked at Michael, he shrugged. There were so many ups to having a husband with special powers. I walked to him and took his hands leading him to the other bed until his knees were up against it. I let go of him and pushed gently. He fell back on the bed and scooted back until his head rested on the pillow. I didn't move for a minute, just took in the vision of my husband in all his hotness. There was a feeling deep inside of me that struck a nerve, the feeling that I had when I thought I'd never see him again. The fear of losing him when I really just found him. I'd have that feeling for awhile I imagined. The fear of loss. I shook my head and pushed away the fear, there was time for that later, right now was cotton candy time. Woo-hoo! I went to the other bed and shielded the bag from Michael's line of vision with my body. I reached in and untied all seven bags of sugary goodness. Leaving the wrappers in the bag I gathered a few bunches in my hands and turned around. He smiled at the colors of pink, blue and green. "Cotton candy?" "Cotton candy," I nodded and stepped closer to him. I got on the bed and straddled him covering my breasts with the fluffiness. He reached for me and started picking at the fluff. He put a piece in his mouth and stuck out his tongue. I watched as the sugar dissolved on it and I was even hotter. "May I?" He asked and nodded towards my breasts. Or maybe it was the cotton candy, either one was a good. I shrugged not knowing exactly what he was planning, but hey, I had cotton candy and that was the important part. He reached a hand towards me and I felt the fluff warm and then melt just a little. Pink sugar dripped from my fingers. Holy shit! He melted it! My baby rocked. I leaned forward and smothered his body in the candy goodness. Leaving nothing but his feet and head uncovered. I thought briefly how glad I was not to be the chambermaid. The melted candy was coating my breasts, but my nipples had made their way through and I resembled something like a circus porn star. I started at his ankles and stuck out my tongue. I made one lick going the length of his body and met his lips as I lay down flat on top of him. Our bodies sticking together like sugary glue. Our mouths melting into one with the sweetness. I broke away and went back to work on the pastel palette in front of me. Never one for the creative, I just dove right in and put my tongue to work. I followed his neck down to that perfect chest and felt him get so aroused underneath me I thought he might burst. The taste of Michael underneath the candy was intoxicating. I didn't know which way was up as I took him in my mouth and sucked off the sugar. Talk about a sugar high! I was going to need Michael inside of me within minutes; there was no question about it. His body was so sticky I could barely slide against him. I glanced over at the bag on the other bed and then met his eyes. "More?" He raised his eyebrows. I nodded as he rolled out from underneath me and opened the bag of cotton candy. He grabbed the remaining bundles and stood over me. Without asking, I knew what he wanted. I rolled on my back and waited to get coated just like him. I was so not disappointed. He didn't do his little melting trick; maybe he thought my body was hot enough to do it for him. I think he was right. He piled the fluffiness in-between my legs and then went to painstaking efforts to top off my breasts. My chest was heaving by now making it harder, but he succeeded. He covered my tits completely and sat straddling my thighs. He plucked a piece of candy from my abdomen and held it to my mouth. I took it with my tongue and then sucked his finger clean. If I didn't have a cavity by morning I'd be surprised. I watched with bated breath as he lowered his head to my breasts and lapped up the melting sugar. Rolling my nipples with his tongue, getting the sugar off every ridge and bump. He backed away and admired his work. Two mountains of pinks and blues with entirely too pert nipples peeking through. He smiled and licked his lips. I knew I could always get him with nipples. He left my breasts that way and by now I was dying. He was much better at this whole teasing thing than I was. I was ready to get down and dirty. His head moved further down and my legs spread as I felt the cotton candy from in-between them being eaten away. The melting sugar was blending with me and I wanted to scream. I looked down, past my pastel mountains and saw him look up. His mouth glistening in color. I beckoned him upward with a crooked finger. He smiled, licked his lips and was in my face within seconds. Our mouths met as I helped slide him into me through all the stickiness. The first thrust as I was almost done for. I would never tire of two things: Michael's chest and the way he feels inside of me. This was my heaven. My utopia. This was worth all the bullshit. He rocked on top of me and I was bubbling with excitement. His hands were all over me, sticking in some spots more than others. All I could taste was the sweetness in my mouth. "You amaze me Maria," he whispered in my ear. I felt my hair getting stuck to his mouth. "You amaze me too, Michael." I forced the rollover and was back on top. If I wasn't so turned on and knew that Michael was too, I would have felt ridiculous with cotton candy breasts and bare nips. But as is it stood, I was felt anything but ridiculous. I knew Michael didn't think I looked anything but hot because his hands were on my tits in a heartbeat. I rocked back and forth on him, when I rocked forward, our bellies smacked and stuck. I ran my hands over his chest and leaned forward to lick the honey-sweet mess off his nipples. They hardened under my touch and I smiled. "I'll always love you Maria," he panted as my rocking rhythm kicked up a notch. I couldn't take it any longer. The heat, the candy, the Michael. I felt him come and warm my insides even more. I was right there after him. I lowered my head to his chest and briefly wondered if I would ever get the cotton candy out of my hair. I didn't get off him and I didn't know for sure if I ever would. The way I was feeling right now was…God; I can't even describe it. Bliss. Yeah, that's it, bliss. I raised my head to look at him. The face of an angel, the mouth of a sinner and all candy-coated. I licked his chest once more while he watched and I smiled. "So, how'd you like dessert?" I asked and winked. * * * The shower was frightening. Well worth the cotton candy escapade, but frightening none the less. We scrubbed each other down, but those stupid little sugary granules just refused to come off in certain locations. I could deal and so could he. By the time we got out of the shower, my fingers were pruny. I hated that. Nothing is as unsexy as pruny fingers. I laid on the other bed; Michael laid next to me and rested his head on my chest right above my breasts. I felt his hands kneading into me and I was good. "Did they hurt you in there?" I asked quietly. He nodded and kissed the expanse of my flesh. "You kept me going, Maria. Just the thought of you was enough." I smiled and ran my hands through his wet hair. "I knew you wouldn't leave me in there to die, or whatever they had planned." He kissed the tip of my soft nipple and I don't think it was soft anymore. "I knew you'd save me, and you did." "I couldn't lose you," I shook my head and wiped away the tears as they side down the sides of my face towards my hair. "I would have done anything to get you out of there." "And you did," he kissed my breast again. "You came through for me." I shrugged and cleared my throat. "It's all going to be different now, isn't it?" I waited and eventually felt him nod on me. Great. "I have friends here Maria, in Section. People who remained loyal to me and my father, even after he passed away. I have to take back Section and make it right." He spoke but he didn't face me, just kissed me again. "It won't be like it was when you were there." I sighed. "I know Michael." Then I broke my promise to Max, okay, maybe it wasn't really a promise, but I broke it anyway. I told Michael about that Liz. The fucking little money hungry lying bitch that she was. I had to; he had a right to know. "Money?" He looked up at me. "Amazing." I agreed and made him promise to keep quiet about it. I felt bad for Max, real bad; his life wasn't going to be easy for awhile. I didn't want to make it worse. Why I had the sudden interest in Max Evans was easy. He had been betrayed and his heart was broken. He was still a perv, but I felt sorry for him. We laid in bed and talked for hours. Michael made me promises of a wonderful life and I nodded a lot. So we were going to do the Section thing. Who cares? I was going to be with Michael and that's all that really mattered to me. I'd really come a long way. As Michel rambled about the changes to Section I thought about my life. Okay, not my entire life, but the last part of it. Less than a year ago I was going to die. I was ready to die and I was saved. I came back from having nothing to having everything. I had a husband who I loved more than anything else in the world and I had friends that I was willing to get seriously injured for, if not killed. Baseball? "What?" I heard a couple of words from Michael and snapped back into the conversation. "You weren't listening to me," he chided and kissed my throat. "I said, while you were sleeping today I ordered a couple of tickets to a baseball game." "A baseball game?" He nodded and I loved him even more. "A Braves game. Next week in Atlanta." He smiled and brushed the hair out of my face. "I know it won't be the same as when you were younger, going with your dad, but maybe it might bring back a few good memories." Tears, big fat ones no less, rolled down my cheeks. My knight in black leather. Chapter Twenty Nine We said good-bye, again, to Kyle, Isabel, Alex, Tess and Max and again, it sucked. I would never get used to good-byes. Making a crying scene at the airport? Most embarrassing. It wasn't quite as bad this time because after much discussion between Michael and myself, we came up with a deal. Okay, I think Michael would always go along with whatever I said. He's good like that. After saying good-bye we spent the next week at Section. We cleaned house. The old ways of Smith and Smythe were now nothing but a distant memory. Michael was restoring Section to what it was before. An anti-terrorist organization to better the world. I was proud to be a part of it. Damn proud. The first thing to change was the catwalk. The glass came down, so now I can hang my arms over it and wave down at people which I thoroughly enjoy doing. Some things I'll never get used to, like the admiration in the eyes of the Operatives when Michael speaks. The attentiveness of everyone involved with Section when Michael walks in a room. The resurrection of Michael Guerin was a success. The tagging along of his wife was another story all together. I wasn't exactly received all to well at first. I guess my antics from when I first got there still hung around the walls. People gave me that look. The look that says 'I know about you'. Yeah, I used to get the same thing in the pokey and it kept me alive. Sooner or later, they'd all fall in love with me. I was sure of it. Riiiight. Michael spent long hours at Section the first week after the cartoon character crucifixion. Destroying files was number one on the list. There was no record of any alien activity at Section or in Roswell New Mexico. The secretness that Smith and Smythe had kept made it a lot easier. All parties involved were gone. Michael learned more from his father through written words and I think he misses him more now. I know I miss my dad a lot lately. Michael taking me to the Braves game? Wonderful. I couldn't ask for anyone better than Michael. He is my world and I've proved myself to him and everyone else. Maria Guerin is not to be reckoned with. The nightmares come every night. I finally shake the ones from the pokey and a few months later I have a whole new set. These are always the same. I can't find Michael. I can't find him anywhere. I spend my nightmarish hell running and falling and crying trying to find him. But he's never there. I wake up in sweats and shakes but always with Michael's arms around me. His lips near mine telling me he'd always be here with me. It'll take time to get over them I'm sure, but I can deal. I can deal with a lot. I know Michael will go out a few missions here and there, but he promised me it wouldn't be for awhile, a long while. Not until my nightmares are gone. Hopefully I'll be able to deal with that when the time comes. So we're still staying at the hotel and the morning after the cotton candy experience we got several stares and whispers from the chambermaids in the hallway. All I could do was smile. The hotel is nice, but I miss our place on the beach. I miss almost naked Michael on the beach. I miss a lot of things. He promised me we wouldn't spend all of our time in DC and then let me in on a little secret. The place at the beach? It's still there and it's ours. Oh yeah, we'll be going back to the beach. I salivate just with the thought of it. I kind of like hanging out at Section while Michael works on Sectiony things. I work out in the gym and play around on the computers. Getting quite good at scanning my tits and emailing them to Michael. The rest of the time, I wait. I wait until my friends come back. The deal Michael and I made? It was simple. Kyle Valenti had said 'fuck you' to his job to come here and help. He needed a job and so help me God, he was going to have one. Woo-hoo! What exactly he was going to do for Section? I had no freaking idea. I was hoping he could take Rena's place in the 'getting the Operatives ready to mingle' department. Who else was better for that job? Well, besides Isabel. Alex was being placed in the techie computer department for a good reason. He was brilliant and he'd be an asset to Section. Plus he promised he'd be my teacher. Bonus. I called Max the other day, just to check up on him and see how he was doing. Eventually our awkward conversation turned to that Liz Parker. She was gone. She was gone from Roswell by the time the others got back with no forwarding address. At least that was what Max said, he could have just told me that so I didn't hunt her down and kick her fucking ass. Oh, I will. Someday. Max was staying in Roswell, for awhile at least. I think he'll make his way here soon though. He won't have anyone left in Roswell after next week. I'm sure we can find something for him to do here. There might be an opening for a titty-watcher around here somewhere. Kyle was going to be here with Tess in just a few days and I couldn't wait! I found them an apartment in Michael's old building. Okay, Michael actually did it, but I liked to take credit for it. Oh yeah, an apartment together. All things in Kyle's world were looking pretty good. He was bringing his dad with him to help them move and for some reason I couldn't wait to see him either. I guess it's the nostalgic feelings about my own dad that I've been having lately. Isabel was house hunting online, at least that what she told me, I can still barely get past email let alone look for a house. A house. Wow. A house for Michael and me to live happily ever after in was somewhere in our future, but for now I was happy in the hotel. I didn't have to clean and we had new sheets on the bed every night. All really was good in my world. I had Michael. I had my friends coming here to live and work and the worry about discovery and sudden death was all but a distant memory. I'd never forget the night we spent rescuing Michael and Tess. I'd never once doubt the strength of Isabel or Kyle. Hell, even Max. I relive that night over and over, usually when I'm awake. Usually when Michael's not around me. Which isn't all that often these days. He knows I'm scared and he does everything he can to make me feel safe. So as I wait anxiously for Kyle and Tess to arrive, I look to my husband as he leans over the catwalk and looks at the new Section below him and smile. He knows what I'm going to ask before I say it out loud. It's the same thing I ask him everyday and every night. "Michael," I smile. "Will you always?" He nods as I fall in love with him again. See I knew it. Michael will always return to me. The End |
| PARTS 25-29 |