A/N: I am so sorry that I haven't updated earlier.

ElleloveMax and mmcandygoodness: Thanks for your reviews and hope this will answer to some of them.

PART 9

Maria woke up feeling good. She closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into the strong familiar arms that held her close. Maybe it had been only a dream. Maybe she hadn't met Rath and Zan, maybe she hadn't left Roswell, maybe she wasn't pregnant... The last thought pained her. Somehow not being pregnant was a terrible thought right that moment. There was only one way to figure it out. She just had to open her eyes and look around.

Being afraid of what the answer might be, she slowly opened her eyes. She wasn't in Roswell. She wasn't in her apartment. She wasn't in Michael's arms. It wasn't a dream.

'Oh shit.' Maria thought while looking at sleeping Rath whose arms were tightly around her.

Moving as carefully as she could, she started to slide from his arms, trying not to wake him.

She got out of the bed and breathed in delight when she noticed that she was dressed. Maria looked around to find her jacket. Picking it up, she put her hand to the doorhandle.

"Where do ya think ya're goin'?" a husky voice behind her asked.

"Out of here." Maria answered and turned to look at him. It was a mistake. Once her eyes landed on his all she wanted was to kiss him like there's no tomorrow. 'Damn these hormones.'

"Oh, no ya're not." Rath said and got up giving Maria a better look at him. He was only wearing his boxers. Rath looked around and spotted his jeans nearby. He put them on and soon after put on a sleeveless black t-shirt which was lying on the floor. Maria thanked him silently. Now she could think again.

"Look, I have to go home, get changed and go to work." Maria said and opened the door. The door was immeaditely slammed shut by Rath who was now very close to her. He was leaning against the door arms crossed. "Move!"

"No." Rath said calmly and took a step towards her. Maria backed away trying to keep the distanse between them. "Listen, girlie. As long as ya're carrying those babies, ya're under my care. That means ya stay in my sight on in tis apartment. I hafta protect ya."

The plural form didn't go unnoticed. "Wait a second. Babies? What do you mean by babies?"

"Ya're havin' twins." Rath stated calmly.

"Twins? How do you know?" Maria asked and sat down on the bed.

"Had a flash." He said and noticed that Maria was staring the floor obviously trying to cope with the news. He sat next to her, putting his arm aroudn her shoulders. "Ya okay?"

Maria quickly got away from him even thought the thought of staying and leaning against him was tempting. She got up and walked to the window. "Okay? OKAY?! Lets rewind this situation. First I have to leave Roswell, my family and all my friends after finding out that I'm going to have a baby. Lets not forget that that's an ALIEN baby! Then when I finally thought that my life was starting to look good again, my baby's father's duplicate is abducting me and taking me to his place where I see another duplicate who should be dead!" Maria yelled at him her hands waving. "Then I find out that I'm having twins. So to answer to your question, I AM NOT OKAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ASKING!"

Rath was surprised by her outburst but quickly came to his senses. He saw that Maria was leaning against the table next to the window. He quickly moved next to her to catch her just in time. She had passed out.

He gently moved her to the bed and tried to get her to wake up. Soon she finally woke up and Rath breathed out in relief. He had noticed long before how beautiful she was but seeing her looking at him with those deep green eyes, her blond hair spread across the pillow and her full lips sligtly aparted... he had to use all the power he had inside of him not to lean down and just make her to forget his pansyass dupe.

"Why?" he heard her asking quietly.

"What?" he asked and was disappointed when she turned her face away from him.

"Why do you have to protect me? What do you care? If I remember correctly during your visit to Roswell you seemed to be more interested of Liz than me. A lot more, in fact." Maria asked quietly.

"That mousy one?" Rath asked and laughed when Maria nodded. "Oh, I noticed ya and was very interested, but what can ya do when ya're boyfriend is glarin' at ev'ry guy that's even glances ya."

"And the kiss?" Maria asked quietly.

"Jealous?" Rath asked and grinned when noticed Maria to part her lips to protest. "It was nuthin'. Just wanted to know if the King's bitch was worth of kissin'. And got my answer. Wouldn't do it again even if ya payed for it. Personally, I don't even know wat he sees in her. Too dull for anythin'."

"Hey! That's my friend you're talking about!" Maria protested but Rath just kept grinning. "So why do you need to protect me?"

"Me and Zan figured it out last night. It's the DNA."

"DNA?"

"Yeah. 'Cause the kids have my dupe's DNA they also have my DNA and that makes them to be my kids. That's why I feel drawn to them, to ya and that's why I feel this urge to keep ya safe." Rath explained and Maria listened. She was surprised by his words and the craziest thing was that it made sense.

Slowly Maria got up and Rath let her. "Well, there's no need to. I can handle myself and the kids just fine. I'm a big girl who has lived for a month all by herself in this big and scary city so you can just let me go." Maria said and tried to look into his eyes but he just turned his eyes away. "Is there something more I should know about?"

"No." Rath stated without any feeling. He didn't want to tell her.

"Then I'm leaving. Seeya." Maria said and headed towards the door but Rath grabbed her upper arm and draw her back to the bed. "Let me go."

"No."

"So there is something more." Maria said and Rath just nodded. Then he got up and went to his closet from where he drew a pink sleeveless t-shirt.

"Nice colour." Maria said with a grin and earned a nasty look from Rath.

"Tis was black yesterday. I didn't change it and neither did Zan." Rath said and tossed the shirt to Maria. "It was yar babies."

"Could you repeat that? I thought that you said my babies turned this shirt to pink." Maria said with not believing what Rath was saying.

"It was yar babies who changed the shirt." Rath said very clearly and before Maria had any time to ask about it he continued. "They used their powers thru ya when ya were sleep. Obviously ya have no control over 'em so that means ya have to stay with us. Either me or Zan always by yar side."

"What? That has never happened." Maria said and Rath's face darkened. "So maybe I can control them. Maybe it happens only when I'm asleep." Maria said and grinned victoriously. "So if that was all then I'll just... you know... go."

"There's more." Rath said quietly. He really didn't want to tell her this but if it was the last change to keep her there then he had to tell her.

"What?" Maria asked and Rath shifted his position.

"The changes are that you'll propably die in the next five months." Rath said quietly and was hurt when suddenly got as far as she could from him.

"Are you going to kill me? I thought that you wanted to protect me and now you're threatening me. Why do you..?" Maria started to talk but Rath cut her off.

"I'm not going to hurt ya or the babies. It's just a fact. Just hear me out, will ya?" Rath said and when Maria seemed to listen him he started. "Twins are very rare among our people. Only one per mil of them survives. Zan and Vilandra were among them and even their surviving were a miracle, or that's wat I've heard. It has sumthin' to do with the energy, the twins' need and the mother's resources. Practically it means that twins need more energy to grow than the mother has to give. One child, no problem. Two? Very rare. Triplets? Unheard of. Got my point?"

Maria didn't say anything. His eyes told her that he wasn't finished.

"When twins reach to middle of the pregnancy their energy need will be too strong for the mother and it drains her to death. Along with their mother the twins will die too." Rath finished and wathed fear to spread to Maria's face and her hands automaticly going to her stomach.

"So I'm going to die?" Maria asked with fear and looked at him.

"No. That's not an option. Me and Zan are going to take care of it." Rath said and walked to her.

"How?" Maria asked with weak voice. "And how do you know how long this pregnancy will last?"

"You're a human and there's human in me and my dupe so most likely the pregnancy will last nine months. Me and Zan have had lot of time to talk about during tis year." Rath tried to be funny and make Maria smile but when it didn't work he gave up. "Listen. Me and Zan will give ya energy so that you'll survive, okay? It'll be allright, you'll see."

Maria leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her. He felt her tears on his shirt and only thing he could do now was comfort her.