RATING: Mature

Couples: M/M with a lot of CC on the side and some new characters.; Cannon

Maria has been living in New York only to find that the dream she has been chasing and sacrificed so much for, has become an utter nightmare. All of a sudden, Maria comes crashing back into Michael's life. With things left few and far between them will Michael be able to be there for Maria when she needs him most or is it too little too late? This is immensely filled with heavy angst and forewarned this may trigger trauma of assault.

Author's Note

Everything up to CH-CH-CHANGES in Season 3 did happen with the exception of a few changes I made to the story:

Tess and Max never had sex. There is no baby Zan (OK Dreamers, you can cheer out loud!) They did get a little close and dated a bit since Liz pushed them together though with pressure from Future Max. I may not be a Dreamer, but I have respect enough to give these two a decent storyline that they deserve. Liz and Max were adorable and kind. I will write these two with complete adoration in this fic.

Liz did change and took on alien powers. She was deathly afraid of the changes at first, but later on, she took on the transition more amicably and it brought her and Max closer together. She never went to the Windham Academy.

Maria talked to Liz on the bench like the scene in CH CH CHANGES and helped Liz realize not to be afraid of the change and to not push Max away. This convinced Liz to go to Max, where they finally cemented their relationship. (DREAMERS even though I'm a CANDY writer here, you can still love me! GO ahead and cheer once again!)

After the night Maria talked to Liz, Maria left the next morning to New York and never came back. She tries calling Michael one last time before she leaves from the bus depot to say goodbye. She didn't want their last conversation to be the encounter she had with him on his stoop. It wasn't the warm comfort she needed and she didn't want Michael to feel used just because they slept together. Unfortunately, Michael purposely doesn't pick up the phone when Maria calls, but he chooses to hear the voicemail she leaves. Once he does, he deletes it.

Michael moves on, Monk never gets killed in this version, so Jim was never saved by Max. Jim is still human. Max never dies so Michael never becomes King. Get it?

Isabel finally gets the courage to tell Jesse about her being an alien. Jesse, while at first surprised and outraged, works it out with Isabel and accepts her.

There's no special unit (That was so random how they appeared in season 3) Nasedo killed them off and disassembled the unit when he was Agent Pierce in Season 2. There was never any evidence of Max, Isabel, and or Michael as aliens. All is well. But the Dupes? That could be another story...

Jim and Amy have started dating. Jim hasn't told Amy about pod squad being aliens….yet.

So what happens to Tess? You gotta read to find out! But don't forget this is a Candy story, so while other characters will make an appearance, M/M is the center of the story.

And now, on with the show.