Michael paced restlessly around his apartment, the vision racing through his head over and over again, like a scene from some movie.
'One man we sent, he broke the rules.......'
Frustratedly, he ran his hands through his already mussed hair as he collapsed on the sagging couch. It had been hours since that last vision, of that was indeed what it was.
'...you just need someone who has part of them that is alien. Someone who could withstand your mind....'
There was no way of knowing if those visions were real. He had no way of knowing if that was his real mother. He had no way of knowing anything. For all he knew, this could all be a figment of his imagination, projecting something he wanted so bad into his dreams.
He had skipped his classes after history and sprinted home, wanting to be alone, wanting some time to think and reason.
'He had a child, and you could be one with her.'
He had finally come to the conclusion that he wasn't really speaking to his mother from some far off land. He was just imagining her, wanting a family, and wanting an excuse to be with Maria. Maria, she would have seen some signs by now, had some idea that she wasn't normal, that she wasn't like everyone else.
He could talk to Max, Isabel and Tess and see of they were having visions. But, he didn't want to. He really didn't want to. It's not like they were going to be sleeping with any humans any time soon, not the way things stood.
He wouldn't do something rash and stupid. He would wait until she appeared to him in a vision again and get all his questions answered.
If she still could, that is.
'....Find her Michael, and be happy. You don't have to be alone anymore.'
And he realized, he had to know the truth. Now.
*********
He pounded insistently on the door, waiting for someone to come and answer.
He heard the words "Just a minute" come from inside the house, and footsteps pattering towards the door. Seconds later, Amy DeLuca opened the door. She was smiling, but when she recognized Michael, she got a look of wariness in her eyes. "Maria's not here," she said, politely, but not offering any information as to where her daughter actually was.
"That's all right Mrs.DeLuca," Michael said, forcing himself to use good manners, "It's actually you I wanted to talk to, if you have the time that is."
Amy looked at him like he was crazy, but stepped aside so he could come in. He walked past her into the little kitchen.
He hesitated, sitting finally on one of the kitchen chairs. Amy went back to the stove where she had been cooking dinner. When Michael still didn't say anything, she asked, "So, what do you have to talk to me about?"
Michael paused, then said, "Maria's father."
Amy's hand stilled from where she had been stirring the tomato sauce for spaghetti. "What on earth would you want to know about him?"
Michael tried to phrase it carefully, "Uh, exactly how much did you know about him? Had you known him for a long time?"
Amy turned around, her hands on her hips, an angry, but also fearful look was in her eyes. "Why are you asking this stuff about Maria's father? That was years ago, and I'm trying to put it behind me."
She sounded indignant, but he saw her hands trembling on her hips. She was scared, and he didn't know exactly why.
But he could take a good guess.
"Please Mrs.DeLuca," he said, trying to gentle his voice. His acting skills could be worthy of an Oscar when he wanted. "It's really important that I know."
He could see the war going on inside her head, debating what to tell him, and what not to. Finally, she spoke. "I met Maria's father when I was very young. He always came into the gas station my parents owned. I worked the counter inside. We hit it off. But, we never officially started dating until a year later. After that, it was 6 months before we were married. Maria came along just before our fifth anniversary. 6 years later, he took off. So, you see Michael, I thought I knew him, but apparently I didn't. I knew all the details of his life, but never that he would desert us like that."
Michael watched her closely as she spoke. Her words rang true, but there was one difference that contradicted the message she was trying to get across. She wasn't bitter, not like she was trying to pretend, or like anyone else in her position would be. He had no doubt the basic facts of her story were true.
He weighed his words carefully, but decided it was time to throw caution to the wind. He needed to know the truth, and he was fairly sure that Amy had the answer he craved. "Mrs.DeLuca," he said quietly, his words even. "Was Maria's father an alien?"
She whirled around. Michael could see the look of stark terror in her eyes, the tensing of her mouth before she stuttered, "Of c-c-course not. What are you talking about?"
And, he knew the truth. "Mrs.DeLuca, I know it's the truth, you don't need to deny it."
She shook her head emphatically, "No, he was human dammit. How can you even suggest such a thing? Are you a psycho or something."
"No, just an alien too," Michael said quietly, saying the very words Max, Isabel and Tess would skin him alive for. The very words he had never uttered to anyone else. Amy DeLuca was the first person he actually told he was an alien.
Amy's mouth began to tremble and she shook her head. "This is insane," she said in a tremulous voice. "You can't be, not...not....."
He nodded silently. Feeling the need to prove it and end this farce, he raised his hand and let the power flow through him, crashing a kitchen chair against the wall.
Her face turned a deadly shade of white, but she had stopped shaking. With a delicate calm she grabbed the chair he had slid across the room, and pulled it over to the table, sitting down with him. "How do I know you're not an FBI agent or some 'evil alien'?" she said, almost sarcastically.
Michael held up his hands, "They don't make aliens federal aliens Mrs.DeLuca, and you have my assurances I'm not in any way evil. Me and M....I have my own identity to keep hidden from the FBI, I won't mention your husband."
Amy gave a brittle laugh. "It's not him I'm concerned about someone turning in. He's been gone for so long, he's far from here, alive and hiding, or dead. I'm just worried about Maria."
Maria. One factor he hadn't considered was her safety. If this ever got out, she would be in as much danger as the four other aliens, or even more.
Amy continued on sadly, "I thought nobody would ever find out. He left to keep us safe, and to help the other of his kind on this planet, apparently you. When Maria never showed any signs of her alien side, I tried to forget everything and pretend that her dad was a normal deadbeat. Truth was, I had known all along it might come down to that. That he might have to leave."
Michael didn't say anything, just let her continue. He didn't want to have to tell her that Nasedo was posing as an FBI agent, one who was trying to get at them. That, for all he knew, the man was dead. But, she lost the nostalgic look in her eyes and turned to him. "Does Maria know?" she demanded. "Does she know about you, what you are?"
Michael nodded silently, and was surprised when she let out a sigh of relief. At his questioning look, he said, "You haven't been involved with her for weeks. She knows your deepest secret and still can stay away from you. That's good. She doesn't need the complication of an alien in her life."
"Mrs.DeLuca," Michael said quietly, "Maria is half-alien, whether she's shown signs yet or not. Plus, it wasn't her decision, it was mine. One, I'm paying for every day."
Amy shook her head emphatically, "Please Michael, please. Let her be. Let her be human, let her live a normal life."
"But there's something you don't understand," Michael replied, "When you.....uh......mated with your husband, you took a great risk. Your human, he's not. You were fortunate your mind managed to stand up to his, because alien's psychi is so much more powerful. With me, a human mind couldn't stand up when we.....became close."
"So?" Amy said, not getting his point. "All the more reason for you to stay away from Maria."
He shook his head, "She's half-alien Mrs.DeLuca. She's one of the only two people on earth, whom I'm not related to, that can withstand my mind."
"So you want to be with her because she's the only choice," Amy snapped, "That's just great. At least her father and I had a real relationship. This is just for convenience's sake."
Michael said forcefully, "No, my God, no. I love your daughter, whether it's convenient or not. I loved her before I knew the truth. She is my only chance for a real relationship." He felt awkward saying this to her mother, but it had to be said.
They heard a car pull into the driveway. Amy gripped Michael's arm tightly. "Promise me," she said through gritted teeth, "Promise me you won't tell her the truth about her father. He never wanted her to know unless she had to, and neither do I."
"Doesn't she 'have to' now?" Michael asked quietly.
Amy shook her head, "No, not while she can still live a normal life. Not while she can still live without worries. Be with her Michael, if she wants you, but don't tell her the whole truth."
Michael hesitated, not wanting to make her life more difficult, but not wanting to lie to her. He knew she would want to know the truth, know that Nasedo had been her father.
"Promise me," Amy said desperately, almost bruising his arm with her vicelike grip.
As the key turned in the lock he said quickly, "I promise. I won't tell her who her father is."
Amy gave a satisfied smile and released his arm as the door began to open. As Maria
walked into her kitchen, the words ran through his head:
Unless it becomes absolutely necessary.
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