ROSWELL on PLANET-SF

Chapter Three

Maria was sitting on her front porch flipping through Parents magazine when an unfamiliar car pulled into the driveway. She squinted against the sun as the driver's side door of a baby blue Ford Tempo opened. Michael stepped out. Maria set down the magazine and stood up. She noticed the temporary tags in the window and laughed.

"No laughing DeLuca!" Michael caleld to her as he walked to the house. "Not one freaking word."

"Oh my God! Where's your bike?"

"I traded it in." He glanced over his shoulder. "On that."

"Why?"

"Why? she asks. Why do you think? I can't go hauling my pregnant girlfriend all over town on a bike. What did you think we were going to do when the baby comes, strap a car seat on the back and go?"

"You are so sweet." She reached over his shoulders and hugged him. "I can't believe you did this for me."

"I did it for us. We're a family and we needed a family car." He almost seemed to grimace. "I'm trying to be responsible."

"You're doing it. I love the way you think." She grabbed his hand and walked him in the house. "We still have to decide on a name."

"Carmen." He raised his eyebrows.

"Summer."

"Candy."

"Summer."

"Yasmine."

"Summer."

"She's going to be born in the fall."

"I don't care."

"C'mon Maria, can't you give a little on this? I mean Summer is so not a name, it's a freakin' season!"

"But Michael, I really like it."

"Fine, but you know it reminds me of that chick from the early Baywatch, her name was Summer."

"You suck!" She eased her way on the couch and stuck her tongue out at him. "You had to ruin my perfect name. Great."

"I'm sorry." He sat down next to her.

"No you're not, you got your way. Now I'll have to go with my second choice."

"Uh oh."

"Leia."

"Leia? Like in Princess Leia?" Michael asked, shocked. "Serious?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

"I like it. I mean, I love it. Leia Guerin. Sounds good, it's like a superhero name."

"Guerin? Try Leia DeLuca."

"Say what?"

"We're not married, I was thinking that DeLuca..." Maria stopped when she saw the veil of sadness creep over Michael's face. "Actually, I think Leia Guerin sounds a hell of a lot better. What was I thinking?"

"Thank you," he frowned and leaned over to kiss her. He rested his hand on her stomach and smiled when he felt slight movement. "I still am in a state of shock that our baby is in there. Someone we created that's going to walk, talk and breathe and be a part of each of us. That's so amazing."

Maria smiled, she was lucky. She was so lucky to have Michael she'd never take him or anything else for granted again. A rough start a few years back had come full circle to this. The beginning of a new life.

Michael rubbed her stomach underneath her shirt, his hand rising higher and higher, finger running underneath her bra strap.

"Well Mr. Guerin, are you feeling a little frisky in the afternoon?" Maria teased as he unhooked her bra one-handed. "Frisky and talented."

"When's your mom going to be home?"

"After dinner. Couch shopping with the Sheriff."

"Bedroom?" He raised one eyebrow at her.

"Oh, yeah." She stood up with his help and he led her down the hall to her bedroom. Michael pulled her shirt over her head and she let her unhooked bra fall to the floor. His eyes widened. "I know, aren't they huge?"

He took a deep breath before pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it to the floor not wanting to tear his eyes away from her. He stepped closer to her and pulled down her elastic waistband shorts and underwear while she unzipped his cutoff cargo pants and let them drop.

"Going commando today?" She noted the absent boxers.

He smiled his answer and led her towards the bed. She laid back and propped two pillows under her head. Michael lay down next to her and pulled a sheet up over them both.

Maria slightly turned into him and kissed him hard, her mouth leading down from his to his outstretched neck. A light moan escaped his lips and she smiled. One arm was propping him up next to her, the other was kneading her thigh. She reached to him and ran her hand through his hair gently pulling his head down, her lips meeting his.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, slowly manoeuvring his body on top of hers. "So beautiful." Hands flat on the bed on either side of her, arms supporting his body weight away above her, he felt Maria touch him and guide him inside of her. As always, he gasped at the first thrust. The first moment of euphoria. "Oh, God."

Maria looked deep into his eyes as he hovered above her; feeling a love like she never thought existed. Never thought possible. Never for her. She grabbed his ass and he thrust inside her. He knew he was going to explode and had to pause. He looked down to see Maria smiling at him.

"Why don't you come down here a little closer?" She stroked his cheek then ran her finger over his lips.

"I don't want to crush the baby."

"You won't crush anything," she laughed as he lowered himself on shaky arms. "I promise."

He hesitated slightly and put half his weight on her, the other on his side. She held his face in her hands and kissed him.

"That's all I wanted," she whispered.

Michael rolled further onto his side and took her with him. He swung her leg over his and thrust deep inside her, his hand kneading her nipple into complete hardness. As his pelvis was grinding into her, he bent his head and took her nipple in his mouth. Maria panted, running her hands through his hair, her back arching.

"Oh God," his body shuddered pulling in tight against her, wrapping his arms around her and sucking on her ear. "Oh...sometimes DeLuca you make me so crazy, I can't even think!"

"That sounds like a good thing."

"Oh, it is. Trust me, it's a very good thing."

"I don't think I ever want to move from here."

"I know I don't, but I will have to." He pulled out of her and burrowed his head in her neck, kissing her. "You remember that movie Say Anything?" he asked and felt her nod. "That part where Lloyd's outside his dream chick's window with the radio and he's playing that song, In Your Eyes. That's me. It sounds dorky, but I know where he was coming from. It's your eyes, Maria. They are your soul. When I look into them I can see and feel everything about you, and it's beautiful."

"Never leave me, Michael." She hugged him close and kissed the top of his head.

"Promise."

* * * *

"That's your idea?" Max was surprised. "I can't believe it took you all this time to come up with that."

"You don't think it will work, do you?"

"I don't know." Max shook his head. "There is such a big risk. Have you thought about the risk?"

"Of course."

"You said it yourself, Liz, if we were to make love and it be her that'd drive us apart forever. I don't know if I'm willing to take that risk."

"Max," she sighed. "School's been out for like three weeks now, we see each other everyday for hours on end. We've been planning our future together. How much longer do you think either one of us can wait? I don't want this to go on forever. I want a normal relationship with the person that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with."

"I feel the same way, but we could lose everything we worked so hard to get back." Max leaned across the seats of the jeep and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I won't lose you again, ever. Not for any reason."

"Don't you want to be with me?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, Liz. More than I can explain. It's something I've thought about for years. But if it means that I make love to you and then lose you, I'll pass."

"You are making me crazy!" she laughed. "We have to fix this. Can we try my way?"

"Try how?"

"Exactly what I mean. We can, you know, when we both know it's me and see how far we can go."

"This just keeps sounding like a worse and worse idea. Didn't you come up with anything else?"

"No. Did you?"

"Nope. But I've been to the Pod Chamber countless trips, just talking. Talking with the slim chance she might hear me and back off."

"Yeah, and you think my idea sucks?" she mocked him jokingly. "We have to try. If I'm wrong, you can fight me off, right?"

"Will you freak out?"

"Not if I know what's going on going into it. I'm not scared of you Max." She tried to reassure him, the same way she had been reassuring him for months. "I was scared before of the whole situation, not just you. As soon as I believed what was going on who did I run too? Who do I always run to?"

"Me." He blushed.

"Always. I trust you Max. When you think I'm no longer there, I know you'll stop. I know you don't want to make love to anyone else, even if it is my body. You'll stop."

"Let me think about it. Can you give me that? You've had a while to think this through and convince yourself it's the only way, now I need that time too. I don't want to rush into anything now. We've come too far."

"I can give you time," she conceded. "But you better not be thinking you can put me off all summer."

"No, I won't do that." He smiled and brushed his growing hair off his forehead. "I want to spend a long, hot summer with you."

"I think you might need a haircut," she remarked, watching him try valiantly to keep the tips of his bangs out of his eyes.

"I was trying to grow it out. Remember, you said future me was hot with long hair?"

"He was...you were...whatever. But you're present Max, I love you just the way you are."

"Thank you. Do you mind if we stop by the barbers' on the way back?"

* * * *

Isabel Evans was lonely. She was lonelier now than she could ever remember. Sure, she had her family and a handful of friends, but she usually felt like an outsider. Max had Liz. Michael had Maria. Isabel had no one. She was invited wherever they went and she usually had a good time, although she hung out a lot with Kyle. Kyle, who had confided in her that he usually felt like a third wheel too.

As she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, these were the times when she missed Alex the most. She really though they might have had something special if his life hadn't been cut short.

It always made her smile to think about all the dorky things he had done to impress her. Then made her cry thinking about her awful she had treated him. He had worshipped her and she had treated him like a lap dog before she saw who he truly was. She didn't think she'd ever feel that way about anyone else again. There were many substitutes, but only one original. Bret had been a substitute and she had really liked him. He treated her good and she had been falling for him. Then he was gone.

She never did get a direct answer from him on why he was breaking up with her. Something must have happened when he came home with her. Did he not like her family? Friends? She might never know. The few times she had seen him on campus after he dumped her, he avoided her. Getting her heart broken was not something she had planned on happening in her freshman year of college.

Now her parents were upset that she wasn't going back. They told her over and over that she was going to be wasting her time going to the Junior College. Maybe that's why she hadn't bothered to pick up any information at the J.C. She knew it too. A few short months ago all she wanted was to come back home and now all she wanted to do was get out of Roswell. The phone had been ringing long enough to distract her inner turmoil that she going off the bed and finally answered it, wondering what happened to the answering machine.

"Isabel?" a vaguely familiar voice asked.

"Yeah," she sighed.

"Hi. It's Bret."

"Oh." The last person she expected to hear from was on the phone. "Hi."

"Do you have a minute?"

"Sure." She sat back on the bed and closed her eyes.

"I wanted to apologise for what happened. If you never wanted to hear from me again, I'd understand."

"Do you think you could explain what happened?" She copped an attitude and it felt good.

"I know you're mad -"

"Now. I'm mad now. Before I was just hurt."

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He let out a deep breath. "I don't know why I broke up with you."

"As long as you had a good reason." Isabel started to hang up.

"I really liked you, I still really like you."

"What happened?"

"I guess I got nervous. I mean, I am such a nerd, I know that. And here you are this beautiful confident woman and all these guys always stared at you and I know they were wondering what a girl like you was doing with a dork like me."

"Why does that matter?"

"Then coming home with you. I mean you are so close with your family and your friends and I felt like such an outsider."

"Wasn't everyone nice to you?"

"Of course, I just felt strange. Anyway, the reason I'm calling was first to apologise for the way I acted. Secondly, I'll be in Roswell tomorrow. Near Roswell. I was wondering if you could find it in your heart to have dinner with me and let me try to make it up to you?"

"Why are you coming here?"

"Honestly? To see you. I'll be near Roswell to drop my cousin off back home. She was visiting here. I volunteered to drive her home on the slim chance you'd see me."

"Oh." Isabel felt the blush creeping up her neck. "Okay, sure."

"Really?" He sounded surprised.

"Call me when you get in and we'll talk, okay?"

"Thank you Isabel. Really, thank you."

Isabel hung up and fell back on the bed. Maybe things were beginning to look a little brighter.

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STORY OF LINES:
3 - CURVED PATH

CHAPTER THREE

WRITTEN BY BECKY W

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