~Part Twelve~


"Done, Whitman!" Michael growled across the room, watching as his skinny friend scrutinized his work before nodding his head in approval.

Two years of being married to Max's sister, Isabel, had truly warped the man.  It was bad enough that his wife had to have a hand in every planned event around town.  Now she was pulling Alex into her delusional reality of what 'perfect' really was by sending him and Michael to the reception garden in order to fix what she deemed as 'a slanted, poor excuse for a decorating job'.  The fact that Alex was now marking off the last item of her 'to do' list just made it ten times worse.

"Okay, that's it.  We can head back now," he informed Michael, folding up the piece of paper in his hand and tucking it safely into his jacket pocket.  "It's getting close to time for the wedding to start anyway.  If we don't get back soon, I'm sure Max will go into some kind of nervous breakdown."

The only thing that made this worthwhile for Michael was the fact that he didn't have to greet the guests.  He was horrible with people, and he was sure they appreciated it just as much as he did.

"Max is probably already having a melt down," Michael muttered underneath his breath, following Alex out of the garden.

It didn't take them long to reach the small church, with its white ribbons and crisp red roses lining the walkway.  Anyone who knew the Parker and Evans families could tell from a glance that Isabel had been the coordinator of this particular wedding.

Her work was flawless.

As they joined the gathering multitude that was milling into the chapel, Michael did his best to keep the agitation off of his face.

People.  What was so freakin' special about having a wedding surrounded by people?  If it were him he probably would have take off to the preacher's house in the middle of the night, little woman in tow, and settle it quickly and peacefully.  Drawing out the whole thing was just torture.  For everyone.  Thinking back on Iz, he corrected himself - everyone sane.

After making his way up to the front and through the door to the room Max was waiting in, Michael let out a sigh of relief.  He'd made it without being stopped by anyone.

"Good, you're back!" Max's father said as he stepped inside and shut the door.  "The ceremony is just about to start."

Sticking one of his hands deep inside of his pocket, Max pulled out a small box and handed it to his best friend.  "Here's the ring for me to give to Liz," he stated, running his hand over the back of his neck and forcing himself not to pace.  "You're suppose to keep it in your pocket until the priest asks for it."

Michael rolled his eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning.  "I know when to give you the ring, Max.  It's not like I'm just going to up and loose it or something."  He added the last bit for his own enjoyment and had to battle with himself not to laugh when Max's head shot up with a new fear in his eyes.

"Don't even joke about that," Max told his best man, absently adjusting his cuffs.

A moment later, the door slowly opened as the priest's head popped inside, alerting them that it was finally time to begin.

Walking out and taking their places to the right, in front of the masses of people, Max and Michael both looked in back of them to the doorway Liz would be walking through very soon.

As Michael let his eyes wander the crowd, he caught site of something, or rather someone, that made his mouth go dry.  Maria.

She was sitting in the very back of the room, seemingly avoiding the crowd of friends and family as her eyes took in the decorations and decor of the room, with a glint in her eyes he remembered seeing the first night he'd spoken with her.  The gentle curls that usually fell down her face were piled on top of her head in a mess of tight ringlets, and held together underneath with what he could only assume was an invisible clip of some sort.  Swirling tendrils swept down each of her porcelain cheeks, falling just above her shoulders as they drew attention to her swollen crimson lips.

Michael forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat as his eyes pinched shut and he started mumbling to himself incoherently.  After a few seconds he opened his eyes only to be met with her own, as she gazed at him and smiled.

Heaven help him, she was a Siren!

Sending back a lopsided grin, he turned his head sideways to watch as Liz stepped out of the doorway and slowly began making her way toward her very reason to be happy - Max.

When had the rest of them come out?!

Time loss.  Sirens were known for making men loose track of time...

He watched Max smile out of the corner of his eye as Liz made her way towards her future husband.  Her wedding dress was simple and elegant, with just a bit of lace on the bodice and white daisies littering her hair.  All in all, Michael didn't think she resembled much of the mouse she normally did, dressed in her gown.  Amazing.

With one last glance back at the small nymph sitting in the back of the room, Michael turned around to face the priest, a knot forming in his stomach.  He wasn't certain of when he was asked for the ring, or the couple had actually said their "I do's", all he knew was that the wedding ceremony was over much too quickly and now he was standing there, expected to head to the reception with her - that...seductress!

Strangely enough, he couldn't help but smile.  Seductress or not, he couldn't imagine going to the family and friends get-together without her there for him to talk to.  If she hadn't come, he probably would have just stayed in a corner all by himself until he could skip out on the rest of it.  He'd most likely still be in a corner during the entire reception, only now...he wouldn't be alone.

Running a hand through his hair nervously, he started walking back down the aisle.  It was time to go meet his date.

.  .  .

After the ceremony had ended, Maria smiled brightly at the newly weds.  Everything had been so beautiful.  She couldn't have imagined humans creating such a touching ceremony if she hadn't seen it for herself.  Liz and Max were perfect together.

Doing her best to remain unnoticed in the crowd, Maria looked back toward the front, where Michael was standing.

Michael.  He was such a confusing being.  One moment she felt as though she was beginning to understand his actions and words, and the next...he was as strange and unreadable to her as when she first began studying him.  An enigma.

Everyday she seemed to grow more and more attached to him, and she knew it would be hard to leave when the time came.  If she had been smart she would have left long ago, but the temptation he had offered her to learn about humans was simply too great to withstand.  Truth be told, she wouldn't trade her time among them for anything.

After nearly all of the guests had cleared the chapel, Maria watched as Michael made his way toward her.  The crisp black suit he wore hugged him snuggly and seemed to bring out a sense of confidence in him.  He was truly beautiful.

"Hey," Michael coughed out, tucking his hands deep into his pockets as he stopped in front of the small pixie.  "Ready to go?"

Maria nodded quickly at him, eager to find out what this 'reception' Liz had told her about was like.  The wedding itself was simply spectacular, but the reception seemed to hold a special appeal for her with its promise of music and dancing.  Now, if she'd only brought her journal with her to keep notes, she might have been able to entertain herself for the rest of the evening and long into the morning hours completely contented.

Looking back and forth from one arm to the other, Michael tried to figure out which one he was suppose to offer her.  Wait, was her hand suppose to go on top, or underneath?  And was that her right, or...?

"Oh, for the love of...!"  Grabbing hold of Maria's hand in his, Michael led her out of the church, towards the garden that the reception was being held in.  It was bad enough that he'd had to wear a suit for the entire day, now she was trying to turn him into a friggin' gentleman!

The moment they entered the garden Maria stopped as her mouth fell open in astonishment.  Letting out a small breath, she whispered quietly, "This is beautiful!"

Wine colored roses and daisies of the purest white lined the walls of bushes surrounding them.  Tables had been set out for guests to sit at with a single, white rose as the centerpiece of each.  The dance floor was littered with smiling couples, and directly in the center of them were Max and Liz, gazing at each other as though no one existed in the world they'd created but themselves.

As quickly as Maria's newfound joy had begun, it was brought to an abrupt halt.  A searing pain deeper than she'd ever experienced pulsated through the tips of her fingers as they clutched Michael's hand tightly in her own.

Biting his tongue to muffle his shout, Michael looked down at her.  Maria's face had paled perceptibly, and her knuckles were a deadly shade of white as he felt her fingernails tearing at his skin.

"Maria?"

Her eyes widened quickly as her hold loosened slightly on his palm.  Watching as she darted her head around, Michael stepped in front of her, placing one of his hands on her cheek to force her to look at him.

"Maria?  Are you okay?"

Shaking her head slightly, she tried to hide the fear in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Too many people?"

Michael watched as she paused, and then nodded her head slightly at him.  He smiled down at her reassuringly before looking around him to find Alex, who was standing near the punchbowl with his wife.

"Listen, I'm going to go tell Alex that we're leaving for an hour or so.  That'll give us just enough time to get back before they cut the cake and leave for their honeymoon.  Is that alright?"

Staring up into his soothing eyes for the last time, Maria nodded and smiled, biting her lip.

"Okay, stay here and I'll be right back."

Watching as Michael walked away, the smile fell from her lips.  Turning around she quickly headed out of the garden as a quiet whisper fell from her lips.

"Good-bye, Michael."