Unsound Intrigue

by Meraad

Post Departure - Michael returns from Antar with Isabel, and finds that everything has changed

Title: Unsound Intrigue
Author: Zia
Disclaimer: In my world I am Queen. And Roswell lives on. :)
Distribution: Ask and ye shall receive
Summary: Another Post Departure fic from me. But this one is different. Michael did leave, and this is what happens after.
Author's Note: ok this is a really bizarre fic don't ask. :)

Maria climbed into the bathtub in Michael's apartment. Kyle found her here a few weeks earlier after she lost her baby. That tiny little life growing inside of her that was part of Michael. The only part of Michael that was left on earth. Slowly she reached for Michael's razor and pulled it apart to get the blade out, slicing up her fingers in the process, but she barely noticed the stinging pain, or the bright red blood that dripped from her fingers. She pressed the blade hard against her wrist and watched as a thin red line appeared on her wrist, then sliced it down hard.

Maria couldn't feel it at all. Blood pumped quickly from the cut in her wrist and then quickly switched the blade to her other hand and repeated the same before curling up on her side in the bathtub, awaiting her death.

-----

Michael ran his fingers through his hair, now longer and scruffier that it had been five years ago. Five years ago when he was still on earth. In Roswell. He wanted to stay. He'd tried to, but when he went to leave he couldn't, and he ended up going to Antar against his will. But now he was home. No, Maria was his home. But what if she'd moved on? What if she met someone and moved on with her life? He wouldn't be surprised.

Only he and Isabel returned. Tess and Max were happily married with their son. He decided enough was enough. The war ended after Isabel murdered Kivar. They found out that he was behind Alex's death, and she lost it. She went to him, made him believe that she wanted him, and then one night in bed she murdered him.

The war ended. Everyone against them gave up, too afraid to try and fight them without Kivar alive.

Michael slid his arm around Isabel's shoulders and pulled her closer. And they started walking. They were a few miles away from Roswell, and unless someone came along and picked them up, they had a long walk.

They lucked out. Someone driving through Roswell was nice enough to give them a lift.

Together they stood in front of the Crashdown. It looked the same. Maybe a little worn. "Let's go in." Isabel said pulling slightly away from Michael. But he didn't move. He was afraid. This meant seeing Maria again. "Michael." She said grabbing his arm and tugging on it.

Finally they walked inside and looked around. It was the same. Michael and Isabel walked over to their old booth and sat down. It felt good to be there again.

"Welcome to the Crashdown. I'm Liz and I'll be you waitress today. Can I get you something to-." She cut herself off when she looked up from her order pad. The booklet fell from her hand and covered her mouth. "Oh god"

"Hey Parker, what are you doing?" Sean called, using his pet name for her, from the backroom then walked towards her. Despite the fact that her last name was now DeLuca, he still loved calling her Parker. That's who she was. He stopped when he saw her, then what she was staring at. "What do you think you're doing here?!" He demanded glaring at Michael.

"I'm looking for Maria."

"Too bad you won't find her."

"Look Sean. I just-"

"Get out."

"No."

"This is my restaurant and I want you out. Now leave or I'll call the cops."

"Just tell me where she is!"

"Do you really want to know that?" Kyle asked from the front door of the diner.

"Yeah. I do."

"She's in Arizona."

"Why?"

"Because, it was the only place that could help her."

"Just tell me what the fu-ck is going on!" Michael demanded annoyed by their delays.

"She's at Briar Ridge. The insane asylum."

Michael was caught off guard. "What?"

"A lot happened while you were gone. Come on, I'll give you a rid and tell you want you've missed."

Part Two

Isabel and Michael climbed into Kyle's car and sat in a long silence before Kyle started talking.

"You got her pregnant."

Isabel gasped softly. "Michael! You said you used a condom!"

"I did! And Maria was on the pill. I guess it wasn't enough"

"She lost the baby."

"What?" Michael looked at Kyle quickly.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but I found her in the bathtub in your apartment, she was bleeding really bad but she lost the baby.."

Michael ran his hands over his face. "I took her to the hospital, I didn't know what else to do. They said she wasn't far enough along for the baby to be developed enough or something A few weeks later she tried to kill herself. She slit her wrists and her mom found her. Luckily when she did or else she would have died. Then her mom checked her into the asylum and she's been there ever since."

Michael stared angrily out the window. She went through all of this because of him, and hated himself for it. She was pregnant, a life he didn't know even existed, and she lost it because of him, because that baby was his. She almost died because of him.

The rest of the trip was in silence. Kyle led them inside and pointed to where Maria was. "We'll give you some time alone." Kyle said leading Isabel out.

Slowly Michael made his way towards her. Maria sat in a chair staring out the window. "Maria?" He whispered kneeling beside her.

Maria looked at him, but her eyes were blank, and glazed over like she wasn't really seeing him. Then her eyes shifted away and back out the window.

"She is kept heavily sedated." Michael looked up at the nurse.

"Why?"

"For her own safety. Without the drugs she is very suicidal."

"She's tried other than that first time?"

"Five times in the first two weeks."

Michael reached up and touched her face. "I'm so sorry baby." He whispered stroking his thumb over her cheek. "Look at me baby please?" She turned her head and looked at him. The blank look still on her face. He didn't know what to do. How could he fix her? He could take her away, then maybe she'd realize things were different. That he was home. They could be happy. "I'm gonna get you out of here baby."

Michael stood up quickly and walked to the front desk. "I want to take her home with me." He said to the woman who's nametag read 'Annie' She was old. Not too old, in her mid forties, dark brown hair sprinkled with gray pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head.

"She's not some puppy you found at the kennel. The only people who can legally check her out are right here on this computer screen." The older woman behind the desk told him with authority, and Michael growled before storming away from the desk. He had to get her out of there. He couldn't leave her there!

Walking up to Isabel and Kyle he glanced back and forth between them. "I have to get her out of there."

"You can't."

"Michael you can't be serious." Isabel sputtered.

"Iz I can't leave her in there. I have to do this for her."

"How do you expect to do it? Only Amy and Sean's names are on that list of who can check her out." Kyle told him leaning back against his car.

"Then I'll do something about it. But I am not going to walk away from this place without her."

"If you can distract Annie, and someone can get to the computer to put your name on there" He glanced down at his watch. "They change shifts in half an hour so whoever comes on when Annie leaves wouldn't know otherwise. That's the only thing I can think of that might work." Kyle told them looking back and forth between Michael and Isabel.

"Izzy you were always best with computers if Kyle can distract her"

"Alex was best with computers." Isabel whispered.

"But I know he taught you a thing or two" She closed her eyes and nodded slightly.

"Yeah he did."

"Great. You two do that and so Annie doesn't get suspicious of me, I'm going to go back and talk to Maria."

Michael walked down the hall again. It was this shade of gray, but almost white, like it was originally was white, but it's been fifty some years since anyone took the time to wipe them off, or repaint them. He knelt down in front of Maria again and rested his hand on her thigh. "I'm getting you out of here baby." He leaned forward and kissed the top of her thigh, and felt her body jerk and her eyes were focused on him. She was actually seeing him.

"Michael" She whispered, slowly lifting her hand up to tuck some hair behind his ear. "You need to shave."

She blinked and it was gone. Her eyes were blank again, and her head turned back to stare out the window. But Michael smiled. He knew she was in there somewhere; he just had to dig her out.

For the next twenty minutes Michael sat there, gently rubbing her thigh and pressing soft kisses against the rough fabric of the cotton pajama's she was wrapped in, desperate for another reaction, but got nothing. He looked up when Isabel and Kyle walked back him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"You can get her out now."

Michael looked back at Maria and touched her cheek. "I'll be right back baby." He said kissing her forehead before walking over to the desk.

Michael lifted Maria out of the chair, and wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his shoulders. Partially because he was desperate to feel her, alive, breathing, heart beating, warm skin. He kissed her shoulder and carried her out of the large building and over to Kyle's car.

Climbing in the back seat he pulled Maria into his arms and gently stroked her hair back from her face. "Everything is gonna be ok now." He told her softly.

Part Three

Two days passed since Michael came back to earth and took Maria out of that asylum. Two days of nothing. She sat there staring off at nothing for the most part. Her eyes occasionally would focus on him, but it didn't last, and she didn't speak.

They were staying in a local hotel, until Michael could find a job and get someplace to live. But he couldn't do that until she was better. He grabbed the two bottles off the counter and dumped one pill from each into his hand. One was a sedative, the other was they didn't actually say what it was, just that she needed it to be able to 'rejoin society.'

Michael walked over to where she sat at the small table and placed the pills and water in front of her. "Take them." He told her and she slowly did as he said.

She wasn't incompetent. She could do things. She just wasn't there. It wasn't really her. She was locked somewhere deep inside her mind or something. "Come on baby, it's late let's go to bed." He took her hand and helped her up from the chair and walked her over to the bed and she laid down on it, curling up on her side.

Michael fell back onto the other side and grabbed the TV remote and started flipping through the channels. She was already asleep. He leaned over and kissed her temple softly. "I love you Maria." He whispered before laying back down and letting sleep take over.

Michael jerked awake hearing loud screams coming from the petite girl beside him. He fumbled for the light and saw her tossing back and forth and screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes wide open, staring up at nothing.

"Maria!?" He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to sit up and shook her slightly. "Maria!? Baby wake up!"

Suddenly she saw him, her whole body went limp against his chest and she sobbed. "Baby my baby they took my baby." She cried, her arms wrapped around his waist.

Michael smoothed her hair down the back of her neck. Her baby? They took it? Was she just having a dream about the day she lost it? He kissed the top of her head. "I know baby. I know. It's ok, everything is ok." He rocked her gently until she drifted back off to sleep.

Michael woke up early the next morning and glanced over at the clock beside the bed. Maria had a doctor's appointment in a few hours. He looked down at her sleeping soundly in his arms. He had a feeling she didn't do that much anymore. He combed his fingers through her hair gently. "Baby. Maria? Wake up?" Her head was rested on his chest, curled up tightly, half on top of him. He shook her shoulder gently and she whined.

"Maria?"

"Huh?" Came a mumbled reply from his chest. She was there. This was his girl. The drugs weren't as strong; well that's what the doctor had told him. That she would become more of a person than the vegetable that she had been. His Maria was laying in his arms right now.

"You have a doctor's appointment in a few hours."

"No."

"You have to go."

"No." Maria repeated pulling the blanket up over her head and snuggling herself farther into Michael's chest.

"You have to." He sat up and pulled her into him, and looked into her eyes. "Maria. You've got to. Prove to them that you're ok. That you don't need those drugs, and then everything can be ok again." Her eyes were still empty. But there was a tiny flicker in there. Michael kissed her forehead softly. "Let's go." He said getting up and pulling her out of the bed.

Michael's phone rang after they got to the doctor's office, and Michael kissed Maria's forehead, told her softly he'd be back to pick her up in an hour, then he was gone.

Five hours passed and Maria was standing outside the office, her arms wrapped around herself, waiting for Michael. [I]He's not coming. He left you. Again. He doesn't want you![/I]

Finally Maria made her way back to the hotel room. He wasn't there. Tears streamed down her face. Slowly she walked over to the counter where her pills were sitting. She didn't know what they were for, just that she always had to take them, and they made her sleepy. She picked up one of the plastic cups off the counter beside the sink and filled it with cold water from the facet.

Maria sunk down to the floor at the foot of the bed and started popping one pill after another into her mouth, occasionally sipping some water.

Liz knocked softly on the door to Maria's hotel room and called her name. Sean had suggested she stop by, make sure things were ok, after finding out that Michael had taken her from the asylum. Getting no answer she forced the door open and gasped at what she saw. Maria laying on the floor of the hotel room, an empty bottle in her hand, another one less than a foot away, and an overturned cup of water. "Maria?!" She shrieked rushing to her side and searching for a pulse. Once she found it she dragged Maria's body, dripping with sweat, to the bathroom and lifting her up, trying to get her to throw up the pills.

Liz pulled her cell phone and dialed Sean's frantically waiting for him to answer. "Sean! Maria tried to do it again!" She cried.

"Razor?"

"Pills Sean what do I do!?"

"Calm down. I'll call an ambulance." Sean told her calmly before the line went dead.

The EMTs arrived and loaded Maria into the back of the ambulance and Liz walked shakily to her car before she broke down and started sobbing. What if Maria managed to kill herself this time? And where the hell was Michael?! He loved her? She found that hard to believe.

Part Four

Michael walked out of the doctor's office and drove to the Crashdown. Sean called. Demanding to know why he'd taken Maria. He wanted an explanation, and he wanted to talk to Michael in person. Climbing out of the car he walked inside, and it was empty. "Sean?" I called, then felt something hit him over the back of his head. With a grunt Michael hit the floor.

Sometime later Michael woke up slowly and glanced around groggily. The room was bright. Glass walls, white floors, white ceiling. He rolled over and fell off the bed he was on and grunted when he hit the floor. What was going on? Then he saw her. "Maria?" He groaned pulling himself to his feet and walking the short distance to the glass room beside his, where Maria lay staring at the ceiling blankly.

He hit his hand against the glass and watched her head turn towards him. Slowly her hand lifted up and touched the glass. "Michael can't feel you" She murmured softly. There was an IV in her arm, and she was hooked up to a machine monitoring her heartbeat.

"It's ok baby. It'll be ok." He pressed his hand against the glass where hers was and tried to focus enough to put his hand through the glass, but he couldn't.

"Your powers won't work." He heard a familiar voice say, and saw Sean standing there.

"What's going on?! Where are we? What did you do to her!?" Michael roared.

"We didn't do anything. You did that to her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Because of you. She's like that now. You abandoned her and she tried to O.D. on drugs. Thanks to you my cousin will never be the same. You see, the drugs she was taking, a mild sedative, and the other one, in low doses it's harmless. But it kept her in the asylum, where she belonged, but when she took that whole bottle" Sean trailed off.

"You're the reason she's like that you bastard!" Michael yelled.

"You abandoned my cousin when she needed you. So now you're going to pay. And she will be sent back to the asylum where she will spend the rest of her life, most likely in a comatose state."

"What are you talking about? She's fine. A little drugged but fine."

"Once those drugs hit her fully permanent brain damage will occur."

Michael felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. "Say goodbye to her Michael. It's the last time you'll ever see her." Sean turned around and walked from the room and Michael moved back to Maria's side.

"Baby look at me." Michael whispered resting his hand against the glass where hers was.

Her head lifted up slowly and she looked at him. "Michael"

"Baby I love you."

"I can't feel you." She said moving her hand a little.

"I can feel you." He told her, wishing he could stroke her damp hair back from her face. Slowly she smiled.

"Now I feel you." Maria murmured, and Michael thought she actually believed she could.

"Close your eyes baby." Michael told her softly, and watched as they slowly slid shut. He hoped that what ever was left of her mind after those drugs had reeked their havoc on her would have him inside.

"Love you." She mumbled then her hand slipped from the glass wall and Michael let out a quiet sob. He lost her.

Sean walked back into the room, this time with three men. "Michael. It's time to go."

"What do you want from me?" Michael growled.

"You're an alien. The FBI has been looking for you for a long time. They were watching you all before you left." The three men advanced on Michael. A glass door slid open and they walked into his small cubical room. "After you left, they lost all hope of ever getting their hands on you. That is until Ria turned up pregnant." Michael flinched when a needle pricked his arm. He was so intent on listening to what Sean was saying he barely noticed. "They finally got a hold of an alien they always wanted. But they couldn't just take the baby after she had it. They grabbed her. Took her baby. Then took her back to her apartment, and no one even noticed."

Michael felt the anger building up inside of him, but he couldn't do anything about it. His whole body was going limp. They were the ones that took Maria's baby. His baby. "Is she still alive?" Michael struggled as they lifted him onto a gurney.

"Beautiful little girl. Amazing powers." Michael swallowed hard. He had a baby girl. She was alive and Maria didn't even know. He felt tight straps across his chest and his legs, holding him down to the gurney.

Part Five

Michael laid there, trying to figure out how to get out. His mind was groggy. He had a little girl he had to save. And Maria. "Can you just let me see her? Just once?" She slurred, turning to look at Sean.

Sean stood there looking at him, seeming to think it over. "Alright. I suppose I could let you see her." Sean jerked his head towards the man that was starting to wheel the bed Maria was laying out from her small cubical, and he turned and quickly and walked from the room.

Within a few minutes the door opened again and Michael saw his daughter. A cute little face, long golden blonde curls, and the same green eyes. "Daddy?" He heard her whisper. How did she know that's who he was?

"You know her powers are amazing." Sean said to Michael. "Anastasia, It's time to go back to your room."

"Ok Uncle Sean but I wanna see my mommy."

"I said go." Tears filled her beautiful green eyes and she bowed her head.

A father's anger filled Michael. He found the strength and ripped his arms from the restraints and rolled off the bed. "Don't yell at my daughter." He hissed as he advanced on Sean.

The sound of a gun going off exploded in his ears. Then his daughter was screaming. Another gun shot. Anastasia threw her arms around Michael's waist and held him tight. Another shot. Michael's eyes searched around the room frantically. Then he saw Maria. Standing with a gun in her hand. It was pointed at Sean. The three other men in the room lay on the floor bleeding.

"Maria put the gun down." Sean said calmly and slowly she pulled the trigger. He fell to the floor, gripping the hole in his stomach.

"Maria." Michael said softly, lifting Anastasia onto his hip he walked towards her. Her eyes were blank. First the gun fell to the floor, then Maria did. Quickly Michael put his daughter down, then scooped Maria into his arms. "Come on Anastasia, stay by my side. We're leaving."

The little girl reached up and latched onto the back of Maria's shirt as she walked with them towards the door.

Michael paused for a second, looking down at Sean. "If you ever come near my family again you won't be so lucky."

The drugs they'd pumped him full of were already wearing off. Maybe it had something to do with his powers growing stronger over the years.

Michael kept walking, until he was able to find a payphone. He dialed Kyle's number, and carefully cradled Maria against his chest. He needed to talk to his daughter, find out how she knew who he was? What had happened to her in there?

Kyle and Isabel pulled up in front of Michael with a screech of the tires and the both jumped out of the car.

"What is going on?!" Isabel exclaimed seeing Maria unconscious in Michael's arms, and the little girl with her arms around Michael's leg.

"I'll explain when we get to Kyle's."

The drive was short, and Michael carried Maria down the hall to Kyle's room and laid her on the bed. "Now tell me what's going on." Isabel demanded.

"The FBI had her all along." Michael said quietly stroking her hair from Maria's forehead.

"What?"

"They took Maria's baby, she never lost it." Michael patted the bed gently and gestured for Anastasia to sit on the edge. "This is our daughter Anastasia. The FBI Sean, put Maria in the asylum, and they had me."

"When will momma wake up?" A pained expression crossed Michael's face.

"I don't know baby." He reached up and pushed some of her blonde curls from her face. "How did you know that I was your dad? That she was your mom?"

"Uncle Sean gave me pictures of mommy and I have things in my head." She touched her temple with her finger. "And I remember you and mommy."

"What did they do to you in there baby?" She shrugged a little.

"I showed them what I could do. They said I was special, that I was good at it too!" She smiled up at her father, desperate for his approval.

"You are special baby." Michael kissed her forehead before looking at Isabel, and then Kyle. "Anastasia, will you go into the other room with Uncle Kyle for a few minutes? Daddy needs to talk to Aunt Isabel alone."

"But I wanna be here when mommy wakes up." Michael winced.

"You will baby I promise." Anastasia smiled and nodded, climbing off the bed she hugged Michael tightly before skipping across the room and took Kyle's hand and pulled him from the room.

Michael looked at Isabel as she closed the door. "Tell me the truth. What's going on?" Isabel asked quietly.

"She overdosed on some drugs that they had her on, Sean said it would cause permanent brain damage."

"Sean did all of this?"

"He was part of the FBI. Mad that I left Maria alone and pregnant he wanted his revenge for it."

"We'll fix her Michael I promise." Michael nodded and moved to kneel beside her again, and Isabel knelt on the other side.

Each rested a hand on her stomach, and the other on her head. They closed their eyes, and focused, trying to find and fix everything that was wrong inside of her.

They broke away, both breathing labored. It wasn't working. They both knew it. "Michael I don't think" She didn't want to believe that Maria would be like this forever; Michael and their daughter needed her.

"Anastasia." Michael called looking down at his wife.

"Michael?" Isabel whispered.

"She's stronger than all of us Isabel." The door slowly opened and Anastasia walked inside.

"Daddy? Is she awake?"

"No baby I need you to help us. Come here." She walked over and he lifted her up to sit beside Maria's head. "You can heal right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah! I fell down one time and hurt myself, and I healed that, and then they had some man, that got hurt, and they had me heal him too." She nodded matter o factly.

"Baby, I need you to help me and aunt Isabel heal your mom."

"What's wrong with her?" Anastasia frowned.

"Something in her head some stuff happened to her baby doll, and she needs us to help her."

"Ok daddy. I can do it." Anastasia looked down at her mom, and then rested her hands on her temples and closed her eyes. Michael watched her for a second then rested his hands on Maria's bare belly beside Isabel's, and together they focused on finding what was wrong.

Part Six

Michael made his way over to the blanket that his beautiful wife was sleeping on. He knelt down beside her before laying on his side behind her, spooning her. He rested his hand on her swollen belly and kissed the soft spot behind her ear. He felt her shiver and snuggled back against his chest. "Hey."

"Hey, where's Ana?" Maria asked quietly tipping her head back to look at Michael. Thanks to Michael, their daughter, and Isabel, Maria was a person again. The five years of her life that she lost didn't seem to exist. And the time since then had done more than make up for her years.

"Playing with Alex." Maria lifted her head and saw Ana holding Alex's hand as they ran around the playground.

"I've got a feeling about the two of them"

"What?" Michael asked kissing her shoulder.

"They're gonna be happy together." Michael laughed at that. Their daughter was only 7, and Kyle, and Isabel's son Alexander, was two years old.

"You think?"

"Yeah." She closed her eyes feeling him nuzzling the back of her neck.

"Smile!" She heard Isabel exclaim, and before she had a chance to react she heard the click of the camera, then smiled. Isabel was constantly taking pictures, of everyone, like she was afraid she wouldn't have enough.

Maria had seen Sean about a month after the incident with the FBI. His arm was in a sling, and Liz was helping him into a U-haul. Liz wrote a few weeks later, saying that Sean sent his apologies, and that they were moving across the country. Maria had a feeling that Liz was completely oblivious, and had no idea about what Sean had done.

Maria snuggled farther back into Michael's chest as Alex and Ana came running over to them and sat on the blanket. "Can we have cake now!?" They giggled in unison.