Part 33A ***************** Judgment Day. Those two words together sounded awful, cruel even. How could two simple words invoke such strong feelings out of one person? Joey squeezed her hands together, pacing the length of her tiny kitchen. She had been doing that a lot lately, ever since Michael had stopped by and offered his help at possibly finding her “lost” family. How was she supposed to say what she had been thinking, feeling since the moment she saw him? ”Oh hey, Michael. I just wanted to stop by and say thanks for all of the wonderful help you and Maria have given me. Since the two of you have offered your help, I thought I’d save you the effort and come right out and say that you’re the family I’ve been looking for.” She shook her head from side to side, her stomach gnawing at nothing. It was driving her insane that she couldn’t decide what to do. This situation could go either one of two ways. She could tell Michael, and he would be happy to have finally found family. The second reaction could be, he could have all this pent up hate and anger for her. If he was anything like her at all, she would have to go with the latter. But she had come this far. Was she willing to turn his whole life upside down and compound it with the baggage of a new family? **************** After the quick briefing they had, Liz waited around to speak to Josh. She was still feeling a little bad about what happened between them. She didn’t want to be his friend, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to feel like a pariah if he was being sincere. She knew how damaging it could be to a person. It had taken Max a long time to get over losing Tess after everyone had treated him so awfully. Sometimes she thought that he was still harboring a little hurt even though he refused to admit it. She wasn’t by any means comparing Josh to Max, because that would just be laughable. But she remembered how she used to say that everyone deserved a second chance. Somehow, if she didn’t give Josh a second chance, she felt like she was being a hypocrite. Josh gathered his things together, ready to walk past Liz without a word, when her sweet angelic voice stopped him. “Josh? I was wondering if you have a minute?” He looked around the room and realized that they were the only people left. He nodded stiffly, waiting to hear what she had to say. “Look. I know that we got off to a bad start. Maybe we assumed things of the other that weren’t true.” He tilted his head, indicating that she should continue. “I just want to put any bad blood between us, in the past.” She paused for a beat, finding it difficult to continue. Whoever said being the bigger person was easy was freakin’ out of their minds. “Maybe we could start over?” She held out her hand to him for a handshake. He studied her closely, still not uttering a word. Liz gave him the brightest smile she could muster. “Hi. I’m Liz Evans. Welcome to the fifth floor.” She pushed her hand forward again. Josh let out a smile, taking her hand in his. He gave it a firm shake, flashing her his pearly whites. “It’s nice to meet you, Liz. I’m Josh. Josh Harper.” He felt his stomach clench when she let out a little giggle. He couldn’t help but brush his thumb across her knuckles as he pulled away. Liz frowned when she felt him give her hand a caress, but when she looked up he was already getting ready to go. Had she imagined that? “I’ll see you later, Liz.” He walked out the door, poking his head back in to wink at her. “It was nice meeting you.” Josh walked down the halls, a bounce in his step as he whistled under his breath. This was going to be a lot easier than he anticipated, and a hell of a lot more fun. Liz Evans was baited, and it wasn’t going to be long before he had her hook, line, and sinker. ************** Joey knocked on Michael and Maria’s door impatiently, her nerves a constant wreck as she waited. She had finally made up her mind to come and tell him the truth. She owed him that much, if not herself. Sure, she had a lot of explaining to do. Something she was more than willing to do if it meant that Michael wouldn’t turn them away. It wasn’t so much fear for herself of being shunned by Michael. In the years that she had been separated from him, she had always assumed that he would hate her, and she had come to expect that. She hadn’t been hoping for some quick reunion that resulted in happily ever after, because she knew first hand that nothing ever ended happily. It was always sadness and tears where she was concerned. What was frightening her was Jamie. She had created a make believe world for her, where her brother would come into their lives and the three of them would become a family. She didn’t know what she was going to do if Michael turned Jamie away. Jamie had been victim to a broken heart too many times in her young life, that she didn’t want to subject her to that. That’s why she had decided to tell Michael first without telling Jamie. She had seen the way Jamie had become attached to Michael and it had been bittersweet for her. Having her two children be so great together, but not having the knowledge that she had…. The door opened, revealing Michael with a smile on his face. “Joey. Hey, you wanna come in?” He pulled the door wide open, stepping aside to let her in. Joey stepped inside wordlessly, hugging her arms around herself. It was as if a chill had developed around her, making her body tremble a little. “Can I get you something to drink, eat?” He pointed to the kitchen, but frowned when he noticed something was wrong with Joey. He could tell that something was bothering her, and that knowledge bothered him. He didn’t really know why he cared so much, but he had grown attached to Joey and Jamie and there was nothing to stop the wave of protectiveness that washed over him where they were concerned. “Look, I’m just going to come out and say what it is I came here to say.” She held up her hand, looking dead serious. “And I want you to let me finish before you say anything, can you do that?” Michael nodded mutely, knowing that whatever it was she was going to say was important. He waited patiently, knowing that whatever was said by Joey, he would do what it was that he could do to help. Joey began pacing, as she spoke. “You and Maria have been so great. So kind to me and Jamie. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I never met the two of you.” She looked up at him, giving him a weak smile. “The two of you have offered to help me find my lost family, but I think it’s time that I tell you that they’ve already been found.” Michael let out a surprised smile. “You found them? That’s great!” She shook her head in frustration. “Please, let me finish.” Another surprised look came over his face, and he quickly clamped his mouth shut. “Michael, you’re the one I’ve been looking for.” His eyebrows knotted in confusion at her last statement. He was the one she was looking for? What the heck did that mean? Joey saw the confusion cross his face. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, finishing what she had come to say. “You’re my son, Michael. I’m your mother.” A loud thud was heard before all went black. Part 33B *************** Liz stepped into her office, smiling like a giddy school girl. Memories of Max’s special picnic flooded her mind. She sat on her seat, reaching for a pen when she saw a fresh bouquet of red roses on her desk. As if on cue, the phone rang with an all too familiar voice that still managed to make her stomach clench, and her toes to curl. “Hey babe.” “Max,” she breathed his name out with a gloriously happy sigh. “What’s up?” “Not much. Just calling to say hi. Leah’s napping, and I just dropped Noah off at soccer practice.” Liz frowned a little. “Soccer? Max….” “Liz….” he used the same slightly whining tone she had just used. “Quit it, Max. I’m just….I don’t want him to get hurt.” She picked up the family picture, looking at her little man feeling sick with worry. “I mean what kind of a sport is it where other kids kick balls at your son?” Max’s laughter rumbled against the phone. “Liz, he’s the goalie. He’s supposed to stop the ball from going inside the net. And besides, it’s not like the other kids are intentionally aiming the ball at him. If anything, they’re trying to get the ball as far away from him.” “Well don’t you just know everything?” She intended it to come out sarcastically, but she didn’t have it in her heart to get mad when he was joking around with her like that. “Well, when it comes to you or the kids, I consider myself an expert,” he said matter-of-factly. She looked down at the red roses on her table, fingering the petals softly. “I think I may have you there, Max. You dropped off roses but you got the wrong color.” Sounding more than confused, Max’s voice came through. “What are you talking about? What roses?” She brought the flowers up to her nose, taking a whiff. “Funny, Max. You’re real smooth, but my favorites are white roses.” She let a triumphant smile past her lips. “Just admit that you forgot. It’s not the first time in history a husband has forgotten an intricate detail when it comes to his wife, and it certainly won’t be the last. I’d just like to hear you admit it,” she goaded. “Liz, you know I would never lie to you. I have no idea what roses you’re talking about. The last time I got you roses was the other night when I brought the picnic to your office, and those roses were definitely white.” Liz’s smile fell from her face, her hands dropping the flowers almost as if they burned to touch them. She recalled the night of the picnic, and sure enough, Max had brought white roses. White, not red. He knew what she liked, and he would never forget something like that. But if he didn’t leave the roses, which was obvious, then who did? “Max, I have to go. I’ll call you back.” She hung up the phone quickly, walking down the hall purposefully. ************ “Liz?” Max stared at the phone in his hands, a sick feeling of dread gnawing at his gut. The things Liz had said just wasn’t sitting right with him. It was like little alarms going off in his head. Something didn’t feel right, and he wasn’t going to be a sitting duck. He hung up the phone, running up the stairs to retrieve his sleeping daughter. He picked her up gently, taking her outside to the car. He strapped her into her car seat with extra care, but she woke up anyway. Her big brown eyes filled with tears, her cute little mouth curling into a cry. Her nose wrinkled much the same way Liz’s did when she cried. Max leaned down, kissing her forehead, whispering softly in her ear. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Daddy didn’t mean to wake you, darlin’, but you and I’ve got some really important things to do.” He ran the tips of his fingers under her chin, which immediately stopped her wailing. The tears subsided, leaving the occasional hiccups that came after one of her crying sessions. He kissed his fingers, touching it to the tip of her nose. “Thanks, puddin’. Daddy’ll make up to you…..I’ll consider getting you that pony,” he joked. ************ Joey held a hand to her mouth, watching in horror as Michael’s eyes glazed over, his body falling backwards onto the carpeted floor. Of the millions of scenarios she had played over in her head before coming over to give him her news, this was definitely not one of them. She ran to his slumped over form, her hands gently tapping his cheeks. “Michael. Michael, wake up.” His eyes fluttered open, his eyes taking a while to focus. When they did, he tried to sit up, but Joey stopped him. “Not so fast. You’ll make yourself dizzy.” The words slipped past her words without thought, her maternal instincts kicking in. He obeyed, moving slowly to lean against the back of the kitchen counter. “What happened?” “You sort of passed out when I told you that you were my son,” she said sheepishly. Michael’s eyes grew wide as he remembered. He dug into his pocket, reaching for the little bottle that served as a temporary relief to his jangled nerves. He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of the cypress oil, exhaling loudly just like Maria had told him. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Joey watching him with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering what the concoction was. He held up the tiny bottle. “Cypress oil, it’s supposed to reduce stress.” Joey smiled knowingly. “Maria?” He grinned. “Yeah. She was- He caught himself, standing up. He pointed an accusatory finger at her. “Don’t try to change the subject. You can’t just drop something crazy like that on me, and not explain it.” She nodded, standing up to full height. She rubbed her moist palms against the back of her jeans, offering him a weak smile. “I wasn’t trying to change the subject, but I can see why you would think that. I fully expect you to ask questions, and I will be more than willing to answer, regardless of how hard and painful the answers may be.” Michael stood back with his mouth hanging open. He hadn’t been expecting that. Heck, he hadn’t expected her to be so cooperative. It would make it a lot harder for him to maintain his “anger”. He crossed his arms, fixing a scowl on his face. “Start at the beginning.” She squeezed her hands, as she went back in time to explain. “Well, I guess it started out my sophomore year in high school. I had a crush on Austin Guerin. He was a year older than me, but I was just obsessed with him. He was the captain of the football team, and I was like a groupie. I was at every game, and every party. His girlfriend Tara, didn’t like me cos I was always hanging around him, making it more than obvious that I was interested in her boyfriend…… I spent a year pining after him, and nothing came of it. He stayed with his girlfriend, and I continued to run after him like a puppy. One day, the news broke out that Austin and Tara broke up, and I made sure I was there to offer support, to give him a shoulder to cry on.” Her eyes took on a far away look. “After one of his games, he asked me if I wanted to go to the old mill. It was the place where all of the high school kids made out. Austin never paid me the time of day so I thought this was my chance. I….We went there…..and…” her voice caught in her throat, her eyes pooling with tears. “I…. Well, I think you know what happened afterwards.” She was silent for a moment that Michael was worried. He opened his mouth to ask if she was okay, but she started speaking again. “After that, he didn’t talk to me anymore. A week later, he got back together with Tara. I was devastated. I stayed home for weeks, physically sick at what happened…..I didn’t….it wasn’t till later that I found out I was pregnant.” She looked up at him then, and her heart broke when she saw the hurt in his eyes as she spoke the words of how he came to be. She didn’t want to go on, but he deserved the truth, and she needed to stop hiding from it. “I told Austin, but he denied that anything ever happened between us….I didn’t know what to do. I was still high school, and I was pregnant. I couldn’t….there was no way I could have a baby. My parents found out, and they were against it. They made it clear that keeping the baby….keeping you wasn’t an option. They sent me here to Roswell to stay with my aunt. I stayed until I had you, and then I went back home to Albuquerque. My aunt took care of all of the legalities, making sure you were adopted and taken into a good family. She would have taken care of you herself, but she was too old to take care of herself, much less take care of a newborn.” She stopped speaking then, waiting for his reaction. While it seemed like years before he said anything, in reality, it was only a matter of minutes. His voice was hoarse. “How do you know, that I’m your son?” Joey wiped away at her tears that had seeped from her eyes. “Because you look exactly like Austin. The moment I saw you, I knew. It‘s something a mother just knows.” Michael shook his head, as if trying to clear it. “Don’t! Don’t say that! You’re not my mother!” Her jaw fell to the floor, the hurt in her eyes unmistakable. But almost twenty years of hurt and confusion while growing up returned to Michael. The days of living with Hank in that godforsaken trailer and all of the things he had pushed to the back of his mind, in the back of his heavy heart, flooded through him with a vengeance that made him weak in the knees. The painful memories were eating him alive, and he reverted to the Michael Guerin stone wall of anger as a defense mechanism. “A mother is someone who raises you, who loves you unconditionally. Someone who sticks with you through thick and thin. She’s not someone who decides to become a mother only when it’s convenient!” His words stung her like a whip. But it was obvious he wasn’t finished. “You can’t walk into my life twenty three years later and drop a bomb on me like this. If you even cared a little bit, it wouldn’t have taken you this long to show up. If you cared at all, you would have saved me from Hank when I needed it!” He broke down into sobs, but he continued. “But you weren’t! You weren’t there! You were never there!” His body trembled with the force of all of his pent up anger and hurt. “My first memories of my family, are Maria, Liz, Alex, Kyle, and then Max, Isabel, and Noah. All of their parents have been more of a parent to me than you’ve ever been.” He pointed a shaky hand to the door, his voice sounding tired and weary. “Just go. Leave…..please,” he begged. Joey was speechless. She couldn’t bring herself to say a word, wanting to respect his wishes. She knew she deserved that and more, because the things he had said had been right on the money. She should have been there, and she wasn’t. She left the apartment, closing the door behind her. Michael grabbed a flower vase, containing flowers and water, throwing it at a door with such force that it shattered on contact. “Damn you!” He spat out, his body shuddering violently as he curled into a ball on the floor. “Damn you…..” Part 33C **************** Liz stormed down the hall, intending to give Josh a piece of her mind, when she stopped mid stride as she saw him in a lip lock with one of the nurses from the ICU Unit. The girl pulled away suddenly, looking embarrassed to have been caught in such a passionate embrace at the office. She gave Josh a quick peck on the cheek, waving as she walked away. Josh smiled after her, turning around to look at Liz. He acted surprised to see her, but he had seen her the minute she had stepped out of her office, looking pissed. He thought she looked sexy when she was all riled up about something, and he had a feeling that his little plan worked. He liked his women feisty. What was the fun if she was all over you? “Oh hey, Liz. What’s up?” he asked casually. She pulled out a red rose from behind her back, her doe eyes burning with barely restrained anger. “Did you leave these in my office?” He rubbed his chin, smiling. “Actually, I had to stuff them in there quickly for just a second. Amy,” he pointed towards the direction of where the nurse disappeared to. “I was going to surprise her, but I didn’t want to give them to her till later. She came up here unexpectedly, and well, I had to find somewhere to put the flowers.” He gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you if it was okay if I could keep them there for safe keeping, but I had to think on my feet, and your office was right there….I really am sorry, Liz.” Liz felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She had just made a complete ass of herself. She had come to tell him to quit chasing her, when it appeared to be that he had a girlfriend. She wished the floor would just open up and swallow her. “It’s uhm….yeah, sorry. It’s fine that you left them there.” She returned to roses to him. “I didn’t realize that you and Amy were….” Josh nodded. “We only got together a little while ago. I was already getting this reputation for getting around, and well, I didn’t want Amy to be the topic of….well, you know.” She bowed her head, remembering how they had thought he was trying to get in everyone’s pants. She felt even worse than she did before. “Josh…I’m- He reached out to touch her hand, smiling down at her. “Liz, don’t worry about it. I know that you don’t think that about me.” He tipped her chin up so that she was looking in his eyes. “We’re friends now, remember?” Her head bobbed up and down, and he couldn’t resist brushing her hair out of her face. Liz flinched at his touch, but he just gestured to her hair. “You have a hair…” “Thing?” she finished for him. He smiled, chuckling lightly. “Yeah.” He had stepped closer to her. So close that she could feel his breath on her skin. “LIZ!” Both of them turned to see Max half walking, half running with Leah in his arms, and a baby bag slung over his shoulder. Max practically pushed Josh out of the way, his one free hand running down Liz’s body as his eyes searched hers. “Hey, are you okay?” Startled to see them there, Liz took Leah from Max’s arms, relieving him temporarily. “I’m fine.” She couldn’t keep the smile of her face as she voiced her question. “What are the two of you doing here?” He leaned his forehead against hers as he cupped her jaw. “I was worried. You got off the phone so suddenly, I just….I had to come and see for myself that you were okay.” Liz touched her lips to his. “You’re a sweetheart. Thank you for coming by, but I’m fine.” He pulled back a little, looking at her to be sure. He threw a glare towards Josh who was holding a red rose in his hands. “You sure?” “Yeah….it was just a little misunderstanding.” She handed Leah back to Max, grinning. “I’m gonna see if I can get an extended lunch.” She touched Leah’s cheek, smiling down at her daughter. “Then the two of you can take me to lunch.” Max smiled for her benefit, waiting until she was out of sight before rounding angry eyes at Josh. “So, what’s it like to be Mr. Mom?” Max shifted the bag on his shoulder, taking care to hold Leah properly. “Excuse me?” Josh circled Max the way an animal would it’s prey. “I don’t know. I just don’t think I could sit around all day and let my wife pay all of the bills while I sit around and babysit.” He let out a venomous grin. “It sort of takes away from your masculinity a bit, don’t you think?” His blue eyes turned icy cold, a mocking smile plastered on his lips. “If I had a wife like Liz, she wouldn’t be left wanting. She wouldn’t even have to lift a finger.” Max’s jaw worked double time as he listened to each and every insult that Josh threw at him. Had he not been holding Leah in his arms, he would’ve kicked this guy’s ass already. Insults to him, he wouldn’t care. But when his family was brought into it, it was a whole new ball game. Josh insinuating that he couldn’t take care and provide for his family hit a sore spot with Max. He squared his shoulders, getting into Josh’s face. “Trust me when I say Liz is never left wanting. She has everything she wants, and could ever need and a bag of chips.” Josh had stumbled back a little when Max stepped forward, but he didn’t let that deter him. “Are you so sure, Max? How do you know that one day she won’t be looking for someone who isn’t used goods?” “What the hell do you mean by that?” Max spat out. Josh crossed his arms cockily. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that that little boy isn’t Liz’s. Face it, Max. You’re a screw-up. A charity case that Liz feels sorry for. She has a kind heart, and she just didn’t have the heart to turn you away.” He stepped up to Max so that he could whisper in his ear. “It’s eating you up inside that I can push your buttons, doesn’t it, Max?” Liz skipped down the hall, her purse dangling over her shoulder. “Let’s go to lunch, babe!” She slipped her arm around Max’s waist, kissing his bicep. Josh had slinked back to his office when he heard Liz’s voice float down the hall. He looked outside his open door, watching the rigid way that Max was holding himself. “Score one for me……you’re going down, Evans.” ******************* Michael hugged his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth on the floor. He had been that way for the past hour since Joey had left. The tears refused to come now, the occasional ragged breath escaping his heavy lungs. He hadn’t moved from his spot, feeling lost and unable to think clearly. He didn’t know what to do, what to think. He was beyond being angry and petty. He was past that. He had played her words over and over again in his head, and it was driving him crazy. All those years he spent as a child thinking he was a bastard mistake, was right. Hearing her confirm it was like a dagger slicing through his heart. And to top it all of, he was brought into the world because his biological father took advantage of his mother. It made his skin crawl. He wanted to claw at himself. To bring physical pain to himself if only to forget about the emotional pain he was experiencing. All of this knowledge was worse than not knowing. At least then, he could pretend. Now…. Now he could barely stand himself. “Michael, I’m home. Sorry I- Maria dropped her purse on the floor as she took in the state of their apartment. Shards of broken glass, spilt water, and shattered flowers littered the front door. It scared her to see the place so….. She almost didn’t recognize it. But more importantly, her fear came full circle when she saw Michael curled up on the floor. She slid across the floor, her hands cupping his cheeks as she looked into his glassy eyes. “Michael?” She choked on her own voice as she saw the dried tear tracks on his face, his body still trembling from whatever had happened. “What….what happened?” He just shook his head, his arms wrapping around her in a vice like grip. He buried his face in her neck, a fresh wave of tears coming. His voice was hoarse from all of his crying. “Please, Maria…..don’t leave……don’t ever leave me….I don’t know….I can’t lose you…..” Maria tried to keep strong, but seeing Michael so broken and afraid tore right through her. If he couldn’t stay strong, how in the heck was she supposed to hold them up? She took a deep breath, kissing his head, his shoulder, anywhere she could land a kiss. It wasn’t passionate, more a gesture of comfort. “Michael, I’d never leave you…..never.” He pulled away slightly, his hands balling up against her shirt. “Promise?” She had no idea where all of this was coming from, but seeing his vulnerability brought out her strength. She traced her fingers down the side of his face, smiling. “I promise.” He returned to her arms, wanting to be held as if he were just a child. They didn’t speak for the rest of the night, just holding each other. Maria didn’t push him, knowing that he didn’t need that. All he needed was the comfort of her arms, and she planned on giving it to him until he stopped needing it.