Chapter 9.

Max sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the alarm clock. The red light of the digits 2:52 gave the room an eerie glow. He stood up and walked to the window, pulling back the curtain to get a glimpse of the moon. He looked over his shoulder to his wife. The moonlight fell on her dark hair and to him, she was perfection. He stared at her for a while, she had a smile on her lips and he knew that she was awake but he let her think that she had him fooled. He had told her in private earlier that tonight was going to be one of those nights, that he would have to leave her again, but only for a short while. Alex, again, promised to take care of her and Max was always grateful to him in times like these. She was the reason for all this; she was his reason for everything. He would give his life for hers in a heartbeat. He walked towards the door and with one last glance, he said his silent goodbye.

Michael stood at the end of the bed, he hated doing this, he hated leaving her. He had contemplated writing a note, but decided against it, she was better off that way. He knew that every time he left like this, she got upset. This was his ritual; he got up, got dressed, packed a bag and stood at the end of the bed for 15 minutes. He studied her, every curve, every movement; he studied her closely, so that every time he closed his eyes, she was all that he could see. The only thing that worried him was that this memory of her was all he'd ever see of her again. That he would be killed and that she would never know how much she means to him, or worse, that he would come home to find her gone. He walked to her side and sat on the edge. He ran his hand through her hair and leaned his head towards hers.
"I love you Maria, I promise I'll come home."
He picked up his bag and didn't look back as he walked out the door.

"You ready?"
Max was waiting for him in the kitchen.
"Yeah..."
"Good, let's go."
Michael felt that familiar sinking in his stomach. The usual "what if's?" running through his mind. 'What if this is the last time? What if I just went back inside? What if...? What if...? What if...?'
Max sensed his uneasiness. He turned around and gave him a smile. Michael smirked back. Max turned back and focused on his path, they had decided to walk, they always did, it was an unspoken rule. Michael wondered how Max was always so confident that things would work out fine, how he never felt afraid of what was out there. But what Michael didn't know was that Max was feeling exactly the same way he was.

"So, they left again?"
Isabelle was sitting at the counter holding a mug of coffee in her hands. Liz was sitting across from her. They had been talking for the last hour.
"Yeah. I thought Max would say good bye or something but he just stood there, I was kinda disappointed."
She caught a glimpse of the the clock on the wall: 9:30.
"Michael said that he told Maria this time."
Liz gave Isabelle a look. Isabelle nodded, silently agreeing that more than likely, he didn't.
"So what do you think we should say?"
Liz shrugged and took another sip of her coffee.
"I think we should just let her rest first, we'll just tell her when she wakes up."
"You never know, he might have told her."
"Doubtful."
"Poor Ria, I'm so gonna kill him when he comes home."
"We all say that every time Is, but when it comes down to it, maybe he thinks she's better off not knowing."
"I don't know Liz, I mean, at least she'd know. It's wrong to leave her out in the cold like that."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking of Max and Michael, where they were, how they were doing. They knew that their whole lives rested on the shoulders of these two men. The sound of Maria's bedroom door creaking open sent thoughts flying through Liz's head. She knew that her friend was going to be heartbroken, ideas of comfort flashed before her eyes. She looked up when Maria entered the room. She knew immediately that something was wrong, she sensed it.
"Hey Maria.."
"Maria" Isabelle nodded and straight away stared back at her coffee.
Maria's heart sank. She could feel the panic rising from the pit of her stomach.
"Where is he? Oh my god, where is he?"
They rose from their seats.
"Calm down, okay everything's fine."
Liz held her in her arms and slowly stroked her back.
"Liz, I'm not five years old, tell me where he is."
Maria's panic was turning to anger. How could he do this to her? Didn't she talk to him about this before? He wasn't supposed to leave her like this, he was supposed to warn her. Isabelle looked sympathetically at Maria.
"You know where he is Maria."
"Yes, I do, and from this moment, Michael Guerin is a dead man walking. I'm serious this time."
"Sure..."
Maria sat down at the counter. She wanted to do something, anything, to make him feel like she was right now. The image of her ripping all his Metallica shirts to shreds brought a smile to her face. Oh the pain!!! She started giggling softly.
"Alex says he's gonna take us shopping for the day."
Good ol' Alex, you could always count on him. The three women sat together in silence, wondering what life would be like without one of them there. They all held each other up. They were like a house of cards, without one, the whole house would fall. Max and Michael were out looking for the Skins whereabouts, risking their lives for their family. Alex would spend the coming days, comforting, supporting and caring in his role as sole protector while the others were gone. And Isabelle, Maria and Liz would be there for each other forever. Sisters, it meant more to them that they were this close by choice and they always would be. As long as the six of them had each other, they would make it. They would fight. They were determined. They would live.

A/N: Sorry, i haven't updated in a while, i was on holidays with my family. Please review, i'm really desperate. Luv ya xxx