~A/N~ There's this chapter and then the next and that's it. Thank you to
all the reviewers- you're amazing. Please review again. . . thanks and
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Disclaimer: Don't own Roswell.
~ The next week- late ~
Michael awoke with a start feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead and he couldn't get himself to calm down.
The dream had been so real. Set out in the baron desert of Roswell, Max had looked almost like he was alive again and well. It looked like so many days of his past, having fun and laughing with Max. But he hadn't expected her to come in.
When Maria walked into his dream world he had found his subconscious mind confused wondering why she was there. She walked over to Max and he tucked her protectively under his arm, almost like he had known her for years. Maria had said nothing but she smiled at Michael with such love and she looked so real. She was so healthy- so like the girl she had been when she first came to Roswell. The girl with false hopes of the future and dreams of what would never come.
And Michael had woken up startled and wondering how it all connected. He felt his heart begin to slow and his breathing even out as he calmed down. Michael realized he knew exactly what the dream meant.
Maria's condition had gotten progressively worse as the week went on and she began to sleep more and more. Michael would sit with her sometimes and watch her sleep- watch her chest rise and fall and secretly pray that it didn't stop rising and she didn't stop breathing. His internal fears told him Maria didn't have long.
Quickly Michael shook his head as if to erase the memory of the dream from his brain. He didn't want to think that Max was sending a message to him that Maria would go up and be with him soon.
Michael worked with his powers secretly every day, trying to build them up to where they had been before. After the death of Max, both he and Izzy had stopped using their powers and as time wore on the memory of how to use them correctly had begun to dim.
He would do exercises with them and tried as hard as he possibly could to get one specific power to show. He longed for the power to heal. The power to heal never came though, and Michael was left with a sense of wanting- wanting to be able to save Maria's life and wanting to be able to go back in time to make sure Max didn't die. Michael had come to the conclusion that the power to heal would always be one thing that Max had that Michael would never obtain.
Every once in awhile, Michael would slip into Maria's room while she was sleeping and lay his hand on her arm, forming a connection almost instantaneously. A rush of memories would come to him: A tall man leading a toddler Maria down the sidewalk, Amy DeLuca's happy face, a man in a hospital bed looking close to death, Maria in the hospital younger in her teens, her trip into Roswell, and Michael's face. He would push away the pictures and focus on Maria searching for the root of the problem.
He would work hard and try to get rid of the cancerous growths that spread through the length of her stomach but nothing would change. Michael didn't have the power to save the girl he loved.
No matter how much he hoped, Maria would never live to see 19. Quietly he slid out of bed and headed to the door, opening it without a sound and heading toward the kitchen. As he passed the family room he stopped abruptly when he saw the lamp on.
He saw Amy DeLuca sitting and looking at a book in her hand. She looked up and smiled weakly at him and when she turned her head Michael could see the tears glistening in her eyes.
Slowly he approached her and glanced down at the book in her hand.
"She was such a beautiful baby," Amy said sadly with a wistful look in her eye as she looked down at the pictures in the photo album. "We couldn't get enough of her. She was so happy and so- so healthy. When my husband died it hit both of us so hard. Then when Maria got sick with the same thing it killed us.
"Finally when she achieved remission it was like it was all over." Amy shook her head looking over at Michael as he timidly took a seat next to her on the couch. "Now look at my baby, my baby's dying and there's nothing anyone can do for her. I can't save the life of the only family I have left."
Michael felt a pang in his stomach as he again remembered the fact that he too would never be able to save Maria's life.
"I don't know what exactly happened in Roswell between you two Michael but you have to know how extremely grateful I am that you're here. You make my baby happy and that's all I can ever ask for from anyone. Thank you for coming. . . thank you for not disappearing like so many people in her life have in the past."
Michael looked at her and saw the look on her face- a look of gratefulness and a look of pain and longing. "I wouldn't stay away for the world. Maria means a lot to me and the fact that you let me stay here does too. I wish I could save Maria for you Amy, but I can't. I don't want to watch her go," he admitted and sighed, "but God wants her now. He needs Maria up there to make him happy like she made us happy her whole life."
Amy smiled through her tears and took Michael's hand in hers. "You're right Michael. God wants Maria now and once Maria goes she won't know pain anymore. She'll go to a place so much better than this and she'll get to be with her father again." Michael watched as more tears brimmed her eyes and he slid over and wrapped her up in a hug.
'She'll be with Max too,' his mind added as he sat on the couch clutching Amy. Slowly he let his tears go and cried softly for the girl that so many people loved and the girl that would soon go up to heaven where Michael couldn't follow.
~ The next night- late ~
Michael awoke quickly when the beam of light sliced through the dark room and fell over his face.
He sat up and saw the silhouette of Amy DeLuca looking at him. "Sh- she's asking for you Michael," Amy said, her voice shaky and filled with sorrow.
Michael could hear it in her voice and as he jumped out of bed he knew this was it. This was the last time he was going to be able to speak to Maria DeLuca.
Quickly he entered her room and saw Susan Barnes adjusting the oxygen tank that was feeding Maria oxygen through a mask Maria held over her mouth. Michael wondered how he had slept through her arrival as he headed over toward the bed and leaned over Maria.
Her eyes were closed and Michael slipped his hand into hers and slowly they opened. A small smile appeared on her lips when she saw him. Michael was scared- she didn't look good as she lay there so small and sucking in the oxygen, her eyes pleading for more air.
"Hey there," Michael said forcing a smile to appear on his lips. "I hear you wanted to see me."
"Michael," she said quietly forcing the words out. "I- I needed to talk to you." Every word was a struggle for her.
"Well here I am Maria," he was trying to hold back the tears, begging himself not to cry in front of her.
"Don't feel bad Michael," she said slowly. "Don't feel bad that you couldn't save me. It wasn't meant to be. God wants me now and no matter what powers you have no one could keep me from him." Amy was listening to every word that Maria said about his powers but at that moment nothing mattered. Nothing except Maria.
"Oh Maria. . ." Michael's words trailed off.
"It's better now Michael. I'll go now and I won't have any pain," her words were slow as she forced them out, "I get to go up with my father now and I'll say hi to Max for you." Michael smiled and she continued, "thank you Michael. Thank you for coming and thank you for loving me. I got what so many people have hoped for- I got to truly fall in love before I died. . . that means more to me than anything. Thank you and I love you," she said and slowly her eyes closed.
"I- is she dead?" Michael quickly asked Mrs. Barnes scared of the answer.
"No," Susan shook her head, "she's fallen into a deep coma. She's not going to last the night. I suggest we just stick it out and wait." The woman looked from him to Amy sadly as she went to adjust another valve. "I'm giving her a lot of pain medication so that probably explains some of the things she said to you. She's in no pain."
Michael realized that both Amy and Susan thought that what Maria had said about his powers was the medication working against her.
They sat with Maria the whole night talking to her quietly. Amy recalled funny memories of the past when her father had been alive and Michael talked about Isabel, Liz, and all the people back in Roswell and all the fun they'd had that summer. They both prayed silently that Maria, wherever she was, could hear them.
At about four in the morning they were gathered around her as Maria DeLuca took her last breath and said goodbye to earth going up to heaven where she belonged. She was finally with God.
~*~*~*~
~A/N~ Although it seems so, that was NOT the last chapter. There will be one more- so please review because the more you review the quicker you get the final installment in The End of Forever.
Disclaimer: Don't own Roswell.
~ The next week- late ~
Michael awoke with a start feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead and he couldn't get himself to calm down.
The dream had been so real. Set out in the baron desert of Roswell, Max had looked almost like he was alive again and well. It looked like so many days of his past, having fun and laughing with Max. But he hadn't expected her to come in.
When Maria walked into his dream world he had found his subconscious mind confused wondering why she was there. She walked over to Max and he tucked her protectively under his arm, almost like he had known her for years. Maria had said nothing but she smiled at Michael with such love and she looked so real. She was so healthy- so like the girl she had been when she first came to Roswell. The girl with false hopes of the future and dreams of what would never come.
And Michael had woken up startled and wondering how it all connected. He felt his heart begin to slow and his breathing even out as he calmed down. Michael realized he knew exactly what the dream meant.
Maria's condition had gotten progressively worse as the week went on and she began to sleep more and more. Michael would sit with her sometimes and watch her sleep- watch her chest rise and fall and secretly pray that it didn't stop rising and she didn't stop breathing. His internal fears told him Maria didn't have long.
Quickly Michael shook his head as if to erase the memory of the dream from his brain. He didn't want to think that Max was sending a message to him that Maria would go up and be with him soon.
Michael worked with his powers secretly every day, trying to build them up to where they had been before. After the death of Max, both he and Izzy had stopped using their powers and as time wore on the memory of how to use them correctly had begun to dim.
He would do exercises with them and tried as hard as he possibly could to get one specific power to show. He longed for the power to heal. The power to heal never came though, and Michael was left with a sense of wanting- wanting to be able to save Maria's life and wanting to be able to go back in time to make sure Max didn't die. Michael had come to the conclusion that the power to heal would always be one thing that Max had that Michael would never obtain.
Every once in awhile, Michael would slip into Maria's room while she was sleeping and lay his hand on her arm, forming a connection almost instantaneously. A rush of memories would come to him: A tall man leading a toddler Maria down the sidewalk, Amy DeLuca's happy face, a man in a hospital bed looking close to death, Maria in the hospital younger in her teens, her trip into Roswell, and Michael's face. He would push away the pictures and focus on Maria searching for the root of the problem.
He would work hard and try to get rid of the cancerous growths that spread through the length of her stomach but nothing would change. Michael didn't have the power to save the girl he loved.
No matter how much he hoped, Maria would never live to see 19. Quietly he slid out of bed and headed to the door, opening it without a sound and heading toward the kitchen. As he passed the family room he stopped abruptly when he saw the lamp on.
He saw Amy DeLuca sitting and looking at a book in her hand. She looked up and smiled weakly at him and when she turned her head Michael could see the tears glistening in her eyes.
Slowly he approached her and glanced down at the book in her hand.
"She was such a beautiful baby," Amy said sadly with a wistful look in her eye as she looked down at the pictures in the photo album. "We couldn't get enough of her. She was so happy and so- so healthy. When my husband died it hit both of us so hard. Then when Maria got sick with the same thing it killed us.
"Finally when she achieved remission it was like it was all over." Amy shook her head looking over at Michael as he timidly took a seat next to her on the couch. "Now look at my baby, my baby's dying and there's nothing anyone can do for her. I can't save the life of the only family I have left."
Michael felt a pang in his stomach as he again remembered the fact that he too would never be able to save Maria's life.
"I don't know what exactly happened in Roswell between you two Michael but you have to know how extremely grateful I am that you're here. You make my baby happy and that's all I can ever ask for from anyone. Thank you for coming. . . thank you for not disappearing like so many people in her life have in the past."
Michael looked at her and saw the look on her face- a look of gratefulness and a look of pain and longing. "I wouldn't stay away for the world. Maria means a lot to me and the fact that you let me stay here does too. I wish I could save Maria for you Amy, but I can't. I don't want to watch her go," he admitted and sighed, "but God wants her now. He needs Maria up there to make him happy like she made us happy her whole life."
Amy smiled through her tears and took Michael's hand in hers. "You're right Michael. God wants Maria now and once Maria goes she won't know pain anymore. She'll go to a place so much better than this and she'll get to be with her father again." Michael watched as more tears brimmed her eyes and he slid over and wrapped her up in a hug.
'She'll be with Max too,' his mind added as he sat on the couch clutching Amy. Slowly he let his tears go and cried softly for the girl that so many people loved and the girl that would soon go up to heaven where Michael couldn't follow.
~ The next night- late ~
Michael awoke quickly when the beam of light sliced through the dark room and fell over his face.
He sat up and saw the silhouette of Amy DeLuca looking at him. "Sh- she's asking for you Michael," Amy said, her voice shaky and filled with sorrow.
Michael could hear it in her voice and as he jumped out of bed he knew this was it. This was the last time he was going to be able to speak to Maria DeLuca.
Quickly he entered her room and saw Susan Barnes adjusting the oxygen tank that was feeding Maria oxygen through a mask Maria held over her mouth. Michael wondered how he had slept through her arrival as he headed over toward the bed and leaned over Maria.
Her eyes were closed and Michael slipped his hand into hers and slowly they opened. A small smile appeared on her lips when she saw him. Michael was scared- she didn't look good as she lay there so small and sucking in the oxygen, her eyes pleading for more air.
"Hey there," Michael said forcing a smile to appear on his lips. "I hear you wanted to see me."
"Michael," she said quietly forcing the words out. "I- I needed to talk to you." Every word was a struggle for her.
"Well here I am Maria," he was trying to hold back the tears, begging himself not to cry in front of her.
"Don't feel bad Michael," she said slowly. "Don't feel bad that you couldn't save me. It wasn't meant to be. God wants me now and no matter what powers you have no one could keep me from him." Amy was listening to every word that Maria said about his powers but at that moment nothing mattered. Nothing except Maria.
"Oh Maria. . ." Michael's words trailed off.
"It's better now Michael. I'll go now and I won't have any pain," her words were slow as she forced them out, "I get to go up with my father now and I'll say hi to Max for you." Michael smiled and she continued, "thank you Michael. Thank you for coming and thank you for loving me. I got what so many people have hoped for- I got to truly fall in love before I died. . . that means more to me than anything. Thank you and I love you," she said and slowly her eyes closed.
"I- is she dead?" Michael quickly asked Mrs. Barnes scared of the answer.
"No," Susan shook her head, "she's fallen into a deep coma. She's not going to last the night. I suggest we just stick it out and wait." The woman looked from him to Amy sadly as she went to adjust another valve. "I'm giving her a lot of pain medication so that probably explains some of the things she said to you. She's in no pain."
Michael realized that both Amy and Susan thought that what Maria had said about his powers was the medication working against her.
They sat with Maria the whole night talking to her quietly. Amy recalled funny memories of the past when her father had been alive and Michael talked about Isabel, Liz, and all the people back in Roswell and all the fun they'd had that summer. They both prayed silently that Maria, wherever she was, could hear them.
At about four in the morning they were gathered around her as Maria DeLuca took her last breath and said goodbye to earth going up to heaven where she belonged. She was finally with God.
~*~*~*~
~A/N~ Although it seems so, that was NOT the last chapter. There will be one more- so please review because the more you review the quicker you get the final installment in The End of Forever.