A/N: I don't own the characters. Just the story. Chapter 1 of 2. Bittersweet for Candy fans. Michael and Maria are featured but I cannot guarantee a happy ending.

Turmoil

"I got nothing open, miss." The night manager told Maria as soon as she entered the musty old motel.

"Thanks anyway," Maria said as she hurried back toward the van. "No vacancy, guys." The others sighed, frustrated.

Liz tried to raise our spirits, "Did we really want to stay in that filthy place anyway?"

"I'm tired. I don't care where we stay," Isabel whined.

"There's another place just up the road." Max said trying to be reasonable.

"I don't know why we're looking for hotels in Jersey when we could just go into New York." Kyle said irritably.

"Do you really think finding a hotel in New York's going to be any easier?" Max asked.

"Anything's better than this," Isabel said.

"I thought you were tired!" Max snapped at his sister.

"Let's just go to New York and shut the girls up, Maxwell." Michael said reasonably.

"Hey!" yelled Kyle offended.

"Just ignore him. It's what everybody else does." Maria said.

"Stay out of it, Maria." Michael snapped back.

"Both of you just be shut up. I'm so sick of you arguing," Isabel yelled speaking for everyone else in the van.

"Let's just go to New York," Liz suggested.

"Fine."

An hour later, the van pulled up in front of a scary looking motel in Brooklyn. "Are you sure this is the neighborhood we should be staying in?" Isabel asked.

"It does look a little rough, Maria." Liz added.

"You guys, this place is fine. We're in Brooklyn and we don't have a lot of money. What did you expect? Besides, this area has an awesome music scene and I definitely want to catch a performance or two while we're here. I even heard--"

Maria was cut off by Michael, "You're babbling."

"Whatever. Let's just go get our rooms." Maria opened the van door and stalked out.

Michael also got out of the van quickly but he didn't follow her. Instead, he announced, "I'm going for a walk."

The others heard Maria mutter, "Typical."

Isabel sighed.

Max and Liz shared a concerned look.

Kyle just shook his head.

The arguments between Michael and Maria were becoming more frequent and more hostile. Half the time, Max was sure that they had no idea what they were actually arguing about and that they really didn't care as long as they got to yell at each other. Michael and Maria used to enjoy arguing. Max had never really understood why but Liz knew that Maria enjoyed the 'making up' part of her arguments with Michael. Unfortunately, the "making up" rarely happened anymore. The pressure of being on the run was taking its toll on their relationship and their arguments were taking their toll on everyone else. Liz had a feeling that Maria was thinking about leaving the group but she knew that it was impossible. Max would never allow her to leave. It was too dangerous. Maria couldn't be by herself. Not with the FBI was still searching for them. They'd had a couple of close calls over the last two years. They had barely escaped from Boston. The FBI had set a trap for them. Jesse had been captured and tortured. Isabel insisted that we go to Boston and save him. No one had argued. But when the gang arrived, Jesse was dead and the FBI had them trapped. They escaped only by sheer luck.

Max paid for two rooms and Isabel mind warped the clerk making him believe that the rooms were given to two elderly couples in town for a wedding. Isabel immediately went to bed and Max went to look for Michael. Liz tried to talk to Maria but she and Kyle had gone to find something to eat. Liz had a bad feeling. It seemed like she always had a bad feeling lately. She was always so worried. She worried about her parents; she worried about Max: and most of all she worried about Maria. Maria was defenseless. She was the only member of the group without alien powers, the only member of the group who had the chance to live a normal life. Liz also worried about the deterioration of Maria's relationship with Michael. Something had changed between the two of them after what happened in Boston. It was like Michael had shut down again and Maria did have the strength or the will to tear those walls down one more time. That's what kept Liz awake at night. The Maria, she remembered, was strong and feisty. She never backed down and when she wanted something, she got it. But Maria has been so subdued lately. Life on the run seems to have sucked all the spirit right out of her. Liz could handle the FBI. She could handle the constant danger. But, she could not handle the fact that Maria was slowly dying inside and that there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Kyle and Maria found a coffee shop a few blocks from the motel. They ate their bagels and drank their coffee in silence. A woman was playing the guitar on a small stage in the back of the shop. Maria was watching her wistfully. She longed for her guitar, for her music and the freedom it offered. She longed for an outlet for her pain. Maria and Kyle stayed in the coffee shop long after their drinks were gone. It wasn't until the young woman left the stage that Maria looked at the clock. They had been gone for three hours. Reluctantly, she shook Kyle and motioned for him to follow her outside. On the way out the door, someone handed Maria a flyer. It was for a show by some band called Desert Star. The name reminded Maria of home and she decided that whether the others liked it or not, she was going to that show.

The next day, the gang split up to explore the city. Maria was, of course, paired with Michael. He was being his usual pleasant self and Maria was extremely short tempered. They got into a fight not an hour after everyone spilt up. Michael went back to the motel while Maria decided she wanted to go back to the coffee shop she and Kyle had visited the night before. Maria was surprised to see the young woman from the night before behind the counter. She recognized Maria and started a conversation.

"Back again?"

"Yeah, I kind of like this place."

"That's what I said when I first got to New York. Now I work here during the day and play here at night. My name is Emma by the way."

"I'm Maria."

Emma nodded toward the stage. "Do you play?"

Maria hesitated. "I used to."

"Oh, yeah? I have my guitar. You can play if you want. The stage is free until 6."

Emma watched as Maria's face expressed her internal debate. "I don't know."

"Give it a try." Maria smiled. "Ok."

So, Maria sat down on the little stage and played. She played every song that she could remember and she even made up one or two. She sang until her voice began to waver. She was surprised when she finally looked up to see that a crowd had gathered to watch her sing. She smiled at them shyly and stood up.

Emma came over and gave her a hug. Maria was startled. "You just seemed so sad up there."

Maria laughed. "I feel great now."

"You should. Music is the best therapy this city has to offer." Emma smiled.

Maria pulled out the flyer for Desert Star. "I was thinking about going to this show tonight. Are you free?" Maria asked.

"No, sorry. My boyfriend has a show tonight in Williamsburg."

"Virginia?" Maria asked.

Emma laughed. "No, the neighborhood. It's not too far from here. Why don't you come?"

"Sure."

"Meet me here at 9 and we'll head over together."

Back at the hotel, Max was getting nervous. "What do you mean you just let her go by herself?

Michael shot his friend an annoyed look. "I came back here. I thought she'd follow me."

"The fighting has got to stop, Michael. It's driving everyone nuts and it's putting Maria in danger."

Michael's eyes flashed dangerously, "Are you saying that I'm putting Maria in danger?"

Liz jumped in before the conversation turned ugly. "You know how she gets when you fight, Michael. She doesn't think. She just reacts."

"I just wish we knew where she was."

Then Kyle had an idea. "We went to this coffee shop last night and Maria really loved it. Maybe she went back."

"That's a good idea, Kyle. Why don't you and Michael check it out? The rest of us can wait here." Max said taking charge as usual.

Kyle and Michael got lost three times on the way to the coffee shop and Michael was in a terrible mood.

When they finally got there, Maria was nowhere to be found. They were about to leave when the chick from last night called out to Kyle, "You just missed your friend."

"Oh?" he responded a bit confused.

"She was here for a while. She looked sad so I let her borrow my guitar. Man, can she sing."

Kyle smiled but Michael looked nervous. "She was singing?"

"Yeah, she had quite an audience."

"That's great. Thanks."

"No problem. Remind her about the show tonight."

"I will." Kyle promised.

Michael stormed outside and started muttering to himself. Kyle ignored him and walked back toward the motel. When they got there, Maria was in the shower and Isabel dragged Kyle off to go see some chick flick that just opened. Michael was upset so Max decided to take him out to get his mind off of things. Liz fell asleep around 8:30 so Maria decided to go meet Emma. She didn't want Liz to panic when she woke up so she left a note explaining her plans and promising to call should anything change.

Emma was waiting outside the coffee shop and she smiled as she saw Maria running toward her. "I didn't think that you were going to show up."

Maria smiled, "I almost didn't."

"Well we better get moving. The show starts in ten minutes."

Maria was pleasantly surprised to discover that Emma's boyfriend was playing at the same showcase as Desert Star the band whose name had reminded her so much of Roswell. Emma and Maria went backstage to find Emma's boyfriend John. He wasn't scheduled to perform for another hour. They found him tuning his guitar with a group of musicians. Emma introduced everyone to Maria and then went to get drinks. Maria struck up a conversation with an interesting looking guy holding drum sticks. She asked him about Desert Star and he told her all about them with awe. When he mentioned that the lead singer was from New Mexico, Maria smiled. Their conversation was interrupted by Emma who yelled for Maria to follow her. Maria excused herself and ran after Emma.

When she finally caught up with her, Emma was talking to another group of musicians. "Hey, Maria. I was just telling the guys about your little performance at the coffee shop today."

Maria smiled awkwardly. "It wasn't really a performance. I just played a little."

"Don't listen to her. She sat there for three hours just singing and playing from her heart it was beautiful."

The guys smiled at Maria and Emma was about to continue singing her praises when a familiar voice interrupted, "Don't you guys ever practice before a show?"

"Hey, Billy."

"What's up, man?" A few of the guys called out in greeting.

Maria turned toward the new guy and was shocked to see a familiar face. "Well, look who finally made it to the city!"

"Billy!"

A/N: Small cliffhanger. Read and review. Chapter 2 coming soon.