Title: Going On (3/?)
Author: Ashley
E-mail: SweetieDayDreams@aol.com
Category: M/M angst
Archive: My site, http://www.starwanderers.homestead.com
Feedback: Always welcome, and thanks for the great words everyone sent on the
other parts. I really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but you knew that
Inspiration: To all the people that sent F/B. I appreciate them taking the time to say they like my work.



Maria walked through the classroom, placing sheets of construction
paper on every desk. Her talk with Isabel last night had made her feel
better. It wasn't the same as talking to Michael, but it was better than
keeping it bottled up.

When she'd told Isabel about the way Kline made her feel, Is had
offered to pick up the kids today, so there wouldn't be an opportunity for
them to run into him. Knowing they'd be safe made Maria feel a little less
anxious about Kline's appointment to sit in.

She turned to the blackboard, drawing the separate shapes she wanted
the kids to cut out. A voice from behind made her turn quickly, her breath
catching in her throat.

"Good morning, Mrs. Guerin."

"Mr. Kline, you scared me." she said, offering another phony smile. "I
didn't hear you come in."

"I'll take that as a compliment to my stealth." His gaze flitted
around the room, giving Maria the strangest feeling he was memorizing every
little thing for future reference.

Trying to dispel the uneasy silence, she moved away from the
blackboard. "Here's a chair you can use today, since the desks are a little
small." A fake laugh. "I'll just put it here in the back, to try and keep the
distraction to a minimum. You know how kids are; always curious about
anything new."

"Actually, I haven't had that much one-on-one contact with children.
But I understand you have two of your own. Would they be the ones you left
with yesterday? They looked . . . adorable. You must be very proud of them."

Maria stopped cold as she heard some underlying meaning in the simple
sentence. Something about his words seemed subtly threatening, but she
couldn't be sure if he meant it that way, or if it was just her own uneasy
feelings coloring her emotions. Deciding to ignore it, she merely smiled
benignly. "Yes, I'm very proud. They're great kids."

He started to say something else, but the door opened and her students
began to move into the classroom. Smiling at them, she told them all good
morning, then moved back to the blackboard to finish her instructions.



The day passed slowly, every tick of the clock drawing on her already
stretched nerves. Every time she looked up, Kline was staring at her. For
someone from the school board, he didn't seem to like children. When Angie
Simmons asked him for help with her cutting, he said something to her that
made the little girl burst into tears. Maria hurried over to her, refusing to
look at the man in the corner. As soon as the children left, she was going
straight to the office. Evaluating her teaching methods was one thing. Making
her students cry was another.

It was an exhausting effort to keep a cheerful smile on her face, but
somehow she managed. When the bell rang, she fairly sagged with relief.
Instead, she quickly handed out book bags and coats. When they were all
ready, she walked them to the door where their parents were waiting.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Kline rising to
his feet. Waving to the last of the students, she moved to grab her purse
before heading to the office.

She never saw the blow coming.

One minute she was reaching for her bag, the next a blinding pain was
shooting through her head. She let out a muffled cry. As everything went
back, her last conscious thought was, "Michael, I need you!"