A/N- Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter written. There has been a lot going on in my life lately, and time to write has become quite scarce. I hope you like this, though. I promise it will get less mysterious in the next chapters and questions will be answered. Please review if you read it, whether you like it or hate it.
"Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again. . ."
-311 "Love Song"
I looked down at her thin frame, watching as her chest rose and fell with the rhythm of her slumber. I still couldn't believe she'd come- Maria was home again.
I slowly got up from the chair and left her room quietly, making sure not to wake her. She'd been asleep for hours, making me wonder how long it had been since she'd gotten to sleep, and making me wonder what nightmares she'd seen since we'd last been together. I walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch, placing my head in my hands and closing my eyes, listening to the rain fall steadily on the roof.
I could see the pains of her past engraved on her face. Even when she slept, her features were twisted with the hardships she'd been through, she was scarred from her memories. She'd come to me to help ease her fears, erase her pains, but truthfully, I didn't know if I could heal her the way she needed.
I looked toward the phone sitting on the table, its silent frame calling me, taunting me. Maria thought that I was the one who could heal her, but I knew that the answer was encased in another realm. I knew her fears- our fears- could only be answered by the answers to our past. We'd been living a lie for years, and I knew that Maria would never be whole again until she understood, only I could help her understand.
I reached over, my thin fingers wrapping around the phone. I dialed the numbers quickly, not stopping for fear that I would chicken out and not do the thing that I knew we both needed. My fingers moved over the numbers quickly, still knowing the way to dial, even after so many months.
He answered on the second ring. I heard him gasp when I said his name.
"Liz," he said, still unsure that he was actually hearing my voice.
"We're coming back. I- I just thought you should know." I said, stumbling over my words, the voice from our past still ringing in my ears.
"Is she- I mean, she's not-"He said, his voice cracking in fear.
"She's fine, she will be fine. We'll both be fine. We're coming back." I hung up the phone and stood up quickly, rushing to my room and packing the clothes as swiftly as I could, ready to leave, ready to face our demons. I packed enough clothes for both of us, and loaded the suitcases into the car.
I entered her room and approached the bed, kneeling down beside her so that we were eye to eye. I placed my hand on her shoulder and her eyes opened, as if she'd never actually been sleeping at all. Her eyes searched mine for the answers she expected me to give, and I just shook my head.
"Maria, come with me to the car," I whispered and slowly she nodded, not questioning my motives, not asking where we were going. I led her to the car, and we both got in. I looked over at her as I started the car. "Just sleep, Maria. Just sleep."
She studied me, a smile slowly spreading on her pale face. "I love you Liz," she said before leaning her head back and closing her eyes.
"I love you too, Ria." I whispered. I pulled out of the driveway, not looking back at the house that held the memories of the life we were leaving behind.
The miles and cities flew by quickly, their names running through my head in fluid motions as we grew nearer and nearer. Maria slept the whole way, barely stirring from her deep slumber. I knew that what I was doing was right, but I didn't know how Maria would feel when she woke up and found herself at the doorway to her past- a past she'd tried so hard to leave behind.
When I saw the sign, my heart skipped a beat, the name running through my head over and over. We entered the town limits and I looked over toward Maria. As if she could feel the town's presence, Maria's eyes opened slowly and drifted toward me. I watched her as she turned her head toward the front, and saw as her gaze fell across the familiar town.
She let out a breath, leaning her head back against the seat. "Roswell," she sighed, and closed her eyes again.
