Michael and Maria laid in Michael's bed in post-coital daze, staring up at the ceiling.
"Okay, that was………" Maria breathed out. "I really missed that." She said. Michael nodded.
"Ditto." He said. Maria blinked and looked over at Michael. She slowly turned so that her arm and her chest rested on his torso. She bent her head down and slowly kissed his chest. Michael reached down with one of his hands and ran his fingers through her hair. He gently pulled her up from her spot on his chest and brought her up to where he lay. He kissed her softly. "I love you." He whispered against her lips. Maria gently stroked his cheek.
"Same here, Spaceboy." She grinned. Maria settled back down beside him, putting her arm across his chest and resting her head against his shoulder. Michael slid his arm underneath her. Maria sighed happily as she felt his hand gently graze her back.
"We should probably go back to Valenti's house, so no one worries about us." Michael said after a while. Maria pouted as a dissatisfied little whimper came out.
"I really have no intention of moving." She said. Michael smiled. He kissed her forehead. He turned towards his nightstand to see the neon lights of his clock read "3:45am".
"Well, we can stay here for another few hours." Michael said, figuring no one would be awake before 7am.
"Good, that gives us plenty of time." Maria stated.
"For?" Michael asked. Maria looked up at him and gave a wicked grin.
"To make up for lost time." She said, giggling softly. Michael couldn't help chuckle. Maria sat up and threw her leg over Michael's waist, straddling his hips. "Ready for round two?" She asked in a sultry tone.
-
Sierra awoke to the smell of coffee, eggs, pancakesand bacon. She sat up and looked around the room. Isabel and Liz were still sound asleep. Sierra got out of bed and stretched a bit. She slowly walked out of Kyle's room and followed the aroma to the kitchen where Jim stood by the stove. He looked up and gave a friendly smile.
"Good morning." He said in a low voice, careful to not awake Kyle and Max who were still sleeping in the living room. Sierra gave him a nod. She walked over to him.
"I guess Michael and Maria aren't back yet." Sierra mused. Jim looked at her. "I sort of saw them leave together last night." She said. Jim made a face that said 'I don't want to know.'
"I see." He said. Sierra smiled gently. He slowly pulled some plates out of the cabinet and set them on the table. Sierra watched him carefully.
"You're still wondering about what I said, aren't you?" She asked. Jim looked at her. "The first day I was here, at the Crashdown. When I called you Grandpa, you're wondering about that, aren't you?" She asked. Jim let out a deep breath.
"A little." He admitted. "I mean, if Kyle's not your father, how is it possible?" He asked. Sierra gave a soft smile.
"We're not related biologically." She informed him. Sierra sat down at the table. Jim joined her. Sierra looked down for a second, thinking what to say, careful not to reveal the future. "When I was little, I used to be jealous of Alex…..Isabel and Jesse's son." She said. "I mean, he had Mr. and Mrs. Evans and Jesse's mother for grandparents. Me? I had nothing. You were always so protective and caring of my dad and everyone, like a parent. You were so warm and caring to everyone. On Christmas and birthdays you'd spoil me and Alex to death. I thought that was what made a grandparent, so one day when I was…….five I think….I just called you Grandpa and it stuck." She said.
"Was I a good 'Grandpa'?" He asked. Sierra reached over and took one of his hands in hers.
"The best." She said. Jim noticed tears began to collect in her eyes. He gently rubbed her hand. Sierra blinked and a few droplets began to slide from her eyes. She pulled one of her hands away and rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears. Jim released her remaining hand and gave her a warm smile.
"So, how about some breakfast?" He offered. Sierra laughed softly.
"Sounds good." She said.
"Great." Jim said. He got up and took one of the plates and began serving her some pancakes, eggs and bacon. He set the plate in front of her and handed her a fork. Sierra stared at the meal as if she was in the presence of some powerful deity. Jim figured she hadn't eaten a whole lot back in her time towards the end and would welcome any kind of food. She grabbed the bottle of syrup and poured a good amount on the pancakes and eggs. She looked up at Jim.
"You wouldn't happen to have green peppers would you?" She asked. Jim was slightly taken aback, before he remembered the whole sweet and spicy thing.
"I've got jalapeños, would that work?" He asked. Sierra's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
"That would work even better." She smiled. Jim laughed and brought the jar out from the refrigerator. Sierra used her unused knife to pull out a large amount of jalapeños and set them on the side of her plate. Once she was done she took her knife and fork and cut them up. Then mixed them in with the eggs. Jim just sat there and watched her. Isabel then walked into the kitchen.
"Mmm, something smells good." She said. Jim took the hint and put some food on her plate. Isabel took a seat next to Sierra. She looked at her plate, seeing the jalapeños and syrup covered eggs. "How's that?" She asked, curious. Sierra slid her plate over.
"Try a bite." She offered. Isabel took a bite of the eggs. Her eyes drifted shut.
"Oh my god." She said her mouth still full of food. "It's delicious." Sierra smiled. She slid the syrup and jar of jalapeños to her. After a while, Kyle, Liz and Max joined them. The minute Max came by, Isabel grabbed his arm "Max, you have got to try this." She said. She shoved a forkful of the eggs in his mouth. Max was a little surprised at first, then paused.
"Wow, this is good. What is it?" He asked.
"Eggs with syrup and cut up jalapeños." Sierra smiled. Max soon was eating the same thing. "I'm surprised you guys haven't had this yet." Sierra said. "Dad would make this for me all the time when I was little." She said.
"Well, not many people trust Michael's culinary endeavors." Isabel pointed out.
"And what exactly is so bad about my cooking?" Came a voice. They all turned to see Michael and Maria walk in the front door. They took seats next to the others. Jim gave them both plates of food. Michael looked at Sierra. "So, I made you my special syrup, jalapeños eggs before?" He asked as he poured some syrup and jalapeños on his plate.
"Since when did you make this?" Max asked. Michael shrugged.
"Trying to find the perfect breakfast one morning a few weeks ago, sort of stumbled upon it." He said. The four aliens munched on their food, leaving the four humans to watch them, yet again left stunned by their eating habits.