Sorry for the delay - rls you know

Disclaimer: You know the drill…the characters aren't mine Roswell and all characters belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox etc. I'm just borrowing them.

Rating: PG-13 – possibly to R

Chapter Thirty-Seven Bridging the Gap

Michael parked the motorcycle and killed the engine. Maria removed her helmet and climbed off, followed by Michael.

"Do you think this is going to work?" she asked as they walked up the sandy incline.

"I don't know," replied Michael. "It helped Alex, so I figured you might as well try it before you really do blow somebody up." They quickly ascended the small slope and stood outside the door to the hidden pod chamber. Michael hung back and gestured to Maria. She stepped forward and used her newly acquired powers and activated the door.

"Did you see that?" Maria asked. "I did it!"

"You sure did," said Michael, stepping into the chamber. Maria quickly followed him, and the door closed behind her, effectively insulating them from the burning heat of the desert. Maria moved across the chamber and began to examine the incubation pods that were housed there.

"Which one was yours?" she asked. Michael pointed to a chamber, and she moved closer, her hands moving to feel the insides of it.

"There's nothing there, Maria," he said. "I've checked it a million times already."

"I wasn't really looking for anything," said Maria. "I was just, well, marveling at it."

"Why?"

"Because it's what brought you to me," she answered. "If these things hadn't done their job, you and I wouldn't be standing here right now.

Michael stepped closer to Mariah and slipped an arm around her shoulder.

"I never really thought about it like that before," he said. "Then I guess I'm thankful right along with you, because there isn't any place I'd rather be, or any person I'd rather be with."

"What about Ava?"

"What about her?" Michael asked, his expression showing his confusion.

"Isn't she what you always wanted? A family. And not just any family, but a twin! How perfect for you," said Maria, her voice filled with venom.

"Maria, what are you talking about?" said an already perplexed Michael. "Wait a second, is this what you were upset about last night? Maria, come on. You already knew that Ava was my sister. So we're twins, so what? What difference does that make? We were in our mother's uterus at the same time. What, did you think we bonded in there or something? Maria, will you get real, that was another life. It was another solar system! Yes, Ava is important to me, I won't deny that. But, Maria, I wouldn't even know what a family was if it wasn't for you! You, Maria, you're my family. Max, Isabelle and I gravitated to each other because we were so different. That's what brought us together. Hell, we didn't even like each other much to begin with, we just knew we needed to stick together." Michael paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"You were different, Maria," he said in a softer voice. "You were the first person to ever love me just for me. You're the one who taught me how to love, what it feels like to be loved! Ava is my sister, that's great, but let's face it Maria, you're my everything!"

Maria stood silently with her back to Michael during his impassioned speech. When he finished speaking, she turned around to face Michael, her face streaked with tears.

"I thought that now that you had her, you wouldn't need me any longer," she sniffed.

"Maria, that's crazy. I need you now, more than ever. When everything around us totally goes crazy, I can always count on you,"

"To totally freak out," finished Maria.

"Well, yeah," Michael said, with a small smile. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her. Gently at first, then with increasing passion. He swept her into his arms and carried her across the chamber to where his old sleeping bag lay on the floor. He knelt carefully next to the sleeping bag, and gently laid Maria down. He lay down beside her and the two began to kiss passionately. After several minutes, Michael groaned, the sound came from deep in his throat, and he started to pull away from Maria.

"No," whispered Maria. "I don't want to stop."

"Are you sure?" Michael questioned softly.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she said, pulling his head down to hers. She kissed him deeply, and moaned with pleasure as Michael's tongue found it's way into her waiting mouth. Their tongues twirled around each other, sending shivers of delight down their spines.

"Are you sure?" Michael asked again.

"Very, very sure," said Maria.


Michael arranged the sleeping back to cover Maria more completely. She lay in his arms; her head nestled on his chest, a look of contentment on her face.

"I love you," he whispered, his fingers trailing through her hair.

"Michael?" she said, her voice drowsy. "Did I fall asleep?"

"You sure did," he said kissing her cheek. "Are you alright?"

"Alright, I'm more than alright," said Maria. "That was so totally incredible. It was like everything I've ever imagined, and a million times more than that."

"You imagined it?" said Michael, a look of interest on his face.

"Well yeah," said Maria, in her no duh voice. "Don't try and tell me you haven't."

We're not talking about me," said Michael. "We're talking about you. What did you imagine? Come on, spill it."

"I imagined," said Maria. "That we have to find a way out of here, and fast," Tess is on her way."

"How much time do we have?" asked Michael as the two scrambled to get dressed.

"Not much," said Maria. "I think she's already here."

Michael grabbed her hand and pulled her into the chamber that contained the granolith. They looked around, but couldn't find any place to hide.

"Oh God, Michael, what are we going to do?" whispered Maria. She watched as Michael knelt down at the base of the granolith and began to push at the panels. One slid open revealing a small crawl space. He grabbed Maria and pushed her inside.

"We're going to hide," he said as he crawled in beside her. He quickly set the panel back into position just as Tess entered the Granolith chamber, followed by Rath and Lonnie.