Christmas
Angel
By Erin
(LuckyMiss@aol.com)
Summary:
Something comes over Michael and he finds his very own Christmas angel.
Rating:
PG-13
Disclaimer:
If I owned 'Roswell,' would I be writing fan fiction? (I don't own the song
Christmas Lullaby' either. It's by Amy
Grant.)
Spoilers:
There's one tiny one in here from 'A Roswell Christmas Carol,' that can only be
seen in the promo that came up at the WB website. I was hoping for the same one on TV, but it wasn't. But it's *tiny!*
Distribution:
Ask and ye shall receive!
Feedback: Please, oh please write me! I love feedback! ::hint, hint::
Dedication: To my mom, who made me listen to this song,
like, a million and a half times last Christmas and to my choir director, who
chose for our choir to sing this song on Christmas Eve this year.
Author's
Note: I started to write this about a week ago and I went to NYC, where I found
no inspiration, but had a lot of fun, nonetheless. So, when I got home, we were supposed to have this snow storm. And I was like 'It never snows in Memphis,'
and today, school was cancelled because of sleet. So, I finished it today and I'm rambling…
Muse-ic:
'Christmas Lullaby,' by Amy Grant and any other holiday music that you can
find…
Now on to
the regularly scheduled fiction...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Michael
Guerin sighed as he stood in front of the only department store on Christmas
Eve, almost ready to start his shopping adventure for a Christmas gift for his
on-and-off girlfriend who he hadn't talked to, ironically, in about a month.
"Ready
to go?" Max cleared his throat and looked at his second in command, who
appeared to be dreading this whole 'shopping for a girl who is kinda like my
girlfriend, but not really.' And Max
knew how he felt. It took him almost a
month to decide what he was going to get Liz, even though he found out about
her and Kyle. He shook his head in
disgust. None of those thoughts today,
he scolded himself. He was here to help
Michael.
Michael
grunted and started walking towards the door of the store.
Max
followed silently, praying to the gods of shopping that they would make it out
of the store alive. He knew well enough
that they were going to be a while, Michael was always a picky shopper, but he
was shopping for the girl he loved today.
And who knew how long that would take?
He could
see the headlines now…
Teenagers
Killed in Pursuit of Happiness
Holiday
Stress, Gifts, and Girlfriends - A Teenager's Tale
And on and
on…
Like they
needed one more tragedy in their lives.
* * * * *
Five hours
later, a very tired Michael Guerin and Max Evans strolled out of the department
store triumphantly.
They walked
to the Jeep and climbed in, Max jumping into the drivers seat and revving the
engine as Michael climbed in the car next to him. They sat in silence as they pulled out of the crowded parking
lot.
"Thanks
for going with me," Michael said quietly, breaking the silence.
"Sure,
anytime, Michael. Glad that you asked
for my help. I mean, I know we haven't
really gotten along lately.
But..." Max's voice droned off.
Could he believe what he was saying?
"Yeah,
we haven't, have we?" Michael asked bitterly, his eyes focusing on the
road. Time to prepare for the
'I'm-the-king-and-you-need-to-respect-and-listen-to-me' speech, he thought.
"I
didn't mean to offend you. We..."
he paused, "we just haven't. I
mean, I know that I'm supposed to be the leader and all, but you're my second
in command and I need to trust you, like I always have. So, I guess I was trying to say was that I
was glad that we got to spend some time together, even if it was Christmas
shopping. I'm glad that I could help
you."
Michael
nodded. What Max said had really
surprised him. He *was* the second in
command and Max *did* need to listen to him... and he admitted it. He grinned to himself.
Life was
good.
* * * * *
Max dropped
Michael off at his apartment minutes later, after their big talk.
"Bye,
Michael," he called to his friend who was about to walk in the door.
"Hey,
Max?" Michael spun around, hoping that he was still there, "Are you
going to the church service tonight?"
Max nodded
slowly, unable to tell why Michael was asking this.
"I'll
see you there," was all that his friend said before he turned back around
and walked through the front door of the apartment building.
Yes,
something strange was going on in Roswell.
* * * * *
Michael
knocked on the door for the third time in about fifteen seconds.
Dammit! Could she get to the door faster? Could she walk any slower? Could she keep him in suspense any longer?
Just then,
the door creaked open and he was face to face with his angel, Maria DeLuca.
"Michael?"
she stepped backwards in surprise.
"Yeah. What?" he asked gruffly, trying to
figure out why she was staring at him like he had grown a second head.
"Why
are you wearing that?" she pointed to his outfit, which consisted of khaki
pants, a wool sweater, and even some nice dress shoes.
"I
felt like it."
She cocked
an eyebrow and grinned. "Oh yeah?"
He nodded.
"Why
don't you come inside? I don't think my
mom will mind. It's, like, negative
five degrees outside. You must be
freezing!"
He nodded,
again, and followed her into the DeLuca's living room. They sat down on the couch and he took off
his jacket.
And they
sat in silence for a few minutes, each waiting for the other to say
something... anything.
"I...
I got you this," Michael finally burst the silence, holding out a small
package that he had fished out of his pocket.
Maria
looked up at him, her eyes shining in surprise. "You didn't have to," she said slowly, ready to hand
him back the present and preparing herself for him to take it back.
"I
wanted to get it for you. Open
it," he told her softly, gazing into her emerald eyes that were focused on
him.
"I
wonder what it is," she questioned as she shook the box.
No sound.
She shook
the box again.
And again,
no sound.
She
sighed. So much for guessing what the
present was.
"Are
you gonna open it already?" Michael asked impatiently, running his hand
through his hair, making it stand up on end.
Maria
nodded and grinned, ripping the holiday wrapping paper from the tiny box and
slowly opening the lid. She gasped when
she saw what it was.
A silver
ring sat in the center of the box, waiting to be wrapped around her finger.
"Michael..."
she began, smiling up at him.
"I
went shopping and looked forever and I just couldn't find anything that I
thought you would need or want or anything.
I... um... thought that you would like something like this, something
that reminded you of me... us. Does it
fit?"
Maria
picked up the silver ring carefully and slipped it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly. She nodded.
"Thanks. I love it," she whispered, wrapping her
arms around Michael's waist.
And Michael
smiled into her hair.
* * * * *
Maria DeLuca
walked into the church with her mother, expecting to see Lizzie and Alex
sitting together. They had always sat
together on Christmas Eve, as well as whenever they went to church.
But, much
to her surprise, she found Lizzie sitting with a dark haired young man. She did a double take and realized that it
was Max. And next to them, Alex was
sitting with Isabel and they were talking softly. Since when had this happened?
But she smiled warmly and waved at her four friends, who all waved back
to her, as she walked closer to the front of the church with her mother.
When they
had reached the Parkers,' Evans,' and Valentis' pew, Amy and Maria plopped down
to sit next to them. They all waved and
smiled, eyes twinkling.
And a row
behind them sat Tess and Kyle, who were obviously involved in a serious
conversation. Maria laughed. She knew that those two were perfect for
each other. Just then, Kyle waved to
her and Tess turned around and beamed at Maria. Maria did the same back to them, grinning as she turned back to
talk to her mother, who was tapping on her shoulder.
"Maria,
go back and sit with your friends," Amy DeLuca said firmly.
"But
Mom," Maria began.
"No
buts about it. Go back and sit with
them, Maria. I know that you want
to."
Maria
nodded silently and got out of her seat, practically running to the back of the
sanctuary where she had seen her friends sitting together.
And when
she reached the back, she got the surprise of her life.
Michael
Guerin was sitting in the back of the church with all of her friends.
Michael
Guerin had come to church and he was all dressed up.
Michael
Guerin was creeping her out today.
But,
nonetheless, she slid in next to him at the end of the pew and waved to
everyone further down the row.
This would
be interesting.
* * * * *
She and
Michael had sat in silence for the whole service so far. They had gone through lots of Christmas
carols, the nativity, the preacher's sermon about how this day was so
important, and the lighting of the Christmas candle and still, no speech.
And they
were rapidly approaching the last song, which happened to be one of Maria's
favorite Christmas songs of all time.
Amy Grant wrote 'Christmas Lullaby' and one member of their church choir
was singing the haunting song tonight.
As the
guitar began to play, the woman began to sing the song, her voice flowing like
the ocean as it wafted over the crowd.
Are you
far away from home this dark and lonely night?
Tell me
what best would help to ease your mind
Someone
to give direction for this unfamiliar road?
Or one
who says follow me and I will lead you home?
Michael
listened to the words of the song.
Truly, he didn't know what had come over him when he decided to come to
church, but whatever it was, he was grateful for it. He was learning something… and this song was completely
beautiful. It reminded him of Maria,
who was singing softly next to him.
How
beautiful, how precious, the savior of old
To love
so completely, the loneliest soul
How
gently, how tenderly, he says to one and all,
'Child
you can follow me and I will lead you home.'
Trust me
and follow me and I will lead you home.
Maria was
like his light in the darkness. He was
lost and scared and all alone and she was there for him, leading him in the
right direction and loving him the whole time, without question. If he could trust her and follow her, he
knew that she could lead him home.
Michael couldn't believe that a song could affect him so much. It was just a song, after all, but it was
*so* characteristic of his relationship with Maria that it frightened him.
All the
music stopped and the singer sang alone, her voice floating through the crowd.,
haunting each and every one of them.
Be near
me Lord Jesus, I ask the to stay
Close by
me forever, and love me I pray
Bless all
the dear children in thy tender care
And take
us to heaven to live with thee there
Take us
to heaven to live with thee there...
Michael
smiled down at Maria and smiled warmly at her.
She was the
one who could help him find himself.
She actually already had helped him so much that he could never repay
her, but he knew that he could make it up to her. That he could love her in exchange for everything she had given
him.
As if she
could feel his gaze upon her, she looked up into his dark eyes and beamed back
at him, making his heart leap in his chest.
So he did
the only thing he could think of; he took her small hand in his larger one,
feeling the cold metal of her new ring in his palm, and gazed into her eyes,
thanking God for giving him a second chance with Maria, the only one who
understood him and the only one who was his home.
And Michael
Guerin knew that everything would be all right because he had found his
Christmas angel and there was no way he was going to let her go this time.
The End