Chapter Three
"Dead?" Tess' voice was unsteady.
"You guys okay?" Michael asked looking at Isabel and Max, both who looked pretty shaken up.
"She blamed us." Isabel whispered. "We never went after her... she was in there for all those months, and they did... bad things to her. And we all just moved on with our lives."
"That doesn't give her the right to turn us in." Max grumbled.
"Shut up Max!" Isabel screeched. "She's dead. Do you get that now!? She's actually dead this time! And guess what?! It is our fault! It's out fault for not doing anything! For not trying to save her! For leaving her in there with them. She's dead, and you're are to blame."
"She betrayed us, Isabel." Max said.
"We betrayed her first." Isabel whispered before turning away.
They drove for a long time in silence before Tess spoke up again. "Do we go back to Roswell? Or do... we leave? I mean... they know we're there now. What will stop them from coming after us?"
"We leave." Michael spoke up. "We go, pack your stuff, we're leaving tonight."
"Michael, this isn't your decision to make." Max snapped.
"You know what Maxwell. I've had enough of listening to you. Look where it got us? So shut the fuck up. We're leaving, and we're not listening to you anymore." The rest of the ride was silent. Michael dropped everyone off at their houses and drove back to his apartment. He was picking them all back up in an hour and they were all leaving. But first, he had some things to do.
He grabbed a duffel bag and started to pack some of his stuff quickly. He paused for a moment seeing something sticking out from under the pillow on his bed. He frowned and grabbed the envelope. He tore it open and he swore his heart stopped.
Michael,
I know that you hate me right now, and if you're reading this, that means all went according to plan in the complex. I hope that you got Isabel and Max out alright. And I am probably dead now. I want you all to know how sorry I am for what I did. For helping the FBI. But you have to understand... they had me for months. And you never came. None of you ever came. They wanted to kill me, but I convinced them to let me live, and I would help them get to all of you. I had no actual intentions of doing so. I was just going to get out, and tell you, and you could all escape. But I got so angry.
I was always just the sidekick. I only found out because I threatened to tell Valenti that Max went up to Liz after she was shot. I am sorry for the pain and suffering I caused everyone, I never meant to hurt any of you. And when I told you I loved you Michael, I meant it. I do love you. More than anything. That is why I am doing this. I know that I won't live through this. But you will, and that is all that matters to me.
Be Careful, and I love you
Maria DeLuca
Michael stared at the note for a long time before stuffing it in his bag and leaving his apartment. He threw it in the back of the van and drove to the Valenti's house. He walked up and knocked on the door. Amy answered, and looked confused.
"I need to talk to you." He said.
"Michael?" Amy shook her head a little. "What is it?"
"Can I come in?" She nodded and stepped back to let him in. He followed her inside and glanced around the house. There was a picture of Maria sitting on top of the TV and he paused.
"I knew she was mad at me." Amy said softly. "Working, and... I was so busy. But, I didn't know she was that mad at me. I only wanted to help her."
"She wasn't mad at you." Michael told her. "She didn't run away."
"You've... you've seen her?" Amy's voice cracked.
"Yeah." Michael sighed. "She..." He took a breath. "I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. Last September. The shooting at the Crashdown. Liz was shot. Max healed her. Guess what? Aliens are real. Maria found out. The FBI wanted the aliens. She got caught in the middle. She didn't run away, she was taken by them. We thought she was dead. But she wasn't." He watched as Amy began to cry softly. "Max and Isabel were taken. Maria knew how to get in, and how to get them out. She saved us. She's the reason we're all still alive. And we... I am the reason she is dead."
"No!" Amy screamed. "Not my baby!"
"I'm sorry." Michael felt the emotions building up inside of him. Tears stung the backs of his eyes and he blinked quickly. "But she loved you. And she was the most... caring and giving person I ever met. I just thought... that you should know the truth. Your daughter never ran away. She loved you more than anything. And she saved us." Michael left quickly, unable to hold back his own tears any longer. As he walked out to the van his tears overflowed and rolled down his cheeks.
Amy was left inside the living room, on her knees, sobbing quietly.
An hour later the four were packed into the van, driving away from Roswell, New Mexico. Michael was stoic, Isabel had been crying. Max was angry, and Tess was just looking out the window. Michael drove all night, and then in the morning Tess took the wheel and continued. Sometime in the middle of that afternoon they arrived in Chicago.
The next few weeks were spent settling into an apartment together. They got a new car, and all went out looking for jobs. Michael easily found one as a security guard. Isabel had gotten a job at a day care. Tess was waiting tables, and Max had sunk into a very deep depression.
"Michael?" Tess said softly, it was the middle of the afternoon and he was passed out in bed. She was sitting on the edge of it, her knees pulled up against her chest. "Michael, wake up."
"Tess." He groaned quietly and yanked the pillow over his head.
"Wake up please, I want to talk to you." Over the last several weeks they had grown closer. They shared a bed, but that was pretty much were it stopped. Tess had nightmares sometimes about being captured, and Michael would hold her.
"Tess. I'm sleeping."
"No, you're not. Please." Michael sighed loudly and pulled the pillow off his head and sat up.
"What?"
"Do you really think she is dead?"
Michael groaned and smacked his head back against the headboard and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah, Tess, I do. I watched it. She got shot in the chest. I watched her go down. There is no way that anyone could have survived that. Besides, they wouldn't want her anymore."
"Michael, the complex exploded."
"What?" Tess pointed to the TV that had been silent. Sure enough, flames completely engulfed the all too familiar building. Michael grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.
"Early this morning, there was a large explosion at this abandoned building, located outside of Gomez, Texas. Officials say there was no one inside the building at the time of the explosion, but yet to have a reason as to why the building exploded in the first place. The fire still is yet to be contained."
"Do you think...?'
"No." Michael shook his head. "Even if it was possible... how? How could she have done something like that? They were probably just..." Michael shook his head. There was no way she could still be alive.
"Are you sure?" Tess pushed.
"Tess!" Michael exploded. "Drop it!" She bowed her head and sighed. "She is dead. It's my fault. And she's dead." His voice came out softer. His own head was bowed now.
Tess looked over at him and chewed nervously on her lip. She closed her eyes for a second and then reached out and carefully touched his hand. "Michael." Her voice came out different. It wasn't her own.
Michael lifted his head and stared at her. He opened his mouth and then closed it. Maria was sitting before him. No. This was wrong, and he knew it. "Tess." His voice cracked.
"Shhh." She murmured. "It's me." She stroked his hair and he closed his eyes at the touch.
"Maria." He breathed. He pulled her against his chest and held onto her tightly. "Oh, baby." He murmured against her hair. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Shh, it's okay Michael. I'm okay."
"It's my fault." Michael told her." It's all my fault. I should... I should have done something. I shouldn't have let you take us in there. I shouldn't have let you go."
"It was my idea Michael, you know it was."
"I don't care." He told her and tightened his grip on her.
She sighed softly and gently cupped his face in her hands. "Michael, don't be mad at yourself." She reached down and touched his hand. Broken again. "Stop doing that." She murmured and leaned forward to kiss him softly. He kissed her back softly and then laid them down, his arms around her waist, his face buried in her hair.
They laid together in silence for a long time. "Tess?" Michael finally spoke.
"Yeah?" Her breath caught in her throat. Was he angry?
"Thanks." She moved her hand up to rest on top of his and nodded. "Do you think... that it would be safe to go back?" She asked softly.
"To Roswell?"
"Yeah...they're gone... could it be safe?"
"I don't know Tess." Michael sighed softly. "I really don't know."
Dylan Jackson stood beside the bed and gently stroking her hair back from her face. He was still pretty confused about what had happened. He'd heard screaming. And he saw Maria. Energy was pouring out of her. Pierce was dead. He knew she'd killed Topolsky. Suddenly rooms were exploding, one by one. The whole complex was soon engulfed in flames. He had been running late, and was just arriving. He found her laying near the door unconscious. Dylan didn't know what else to do, so he'd taken her with him back home, a small town, just outside of Roswell. Dexter, New Mexico. Several days had passed and she had woken up for mere moments only to slip unconscious again.
But he was afraid to take her to the hospital. He wasn't sure what to do. He'd always been so good at just taking orders. That was why he had joined the FBI.
A month passed before the Pod Squad decided that maybe it would be okay to go back to Roswell. Michael didn't want to go though. He didn't want to be reminded of Maria. Of all that had happened. Isabel had instantly gone to Alex, Max to Liz. Tess and Michael had just sort of looked at each other. Tess began looking for an apartment for the two of them. She knew they were together out of sheer loneliness. Michael kissed her forehead and left her at the Crashdown. He drove out to the Valenti's and stared at the house.
After a while the front door opened, and Kyle stood there, arms across his chest. A moment later Amy appeared beside him and gently pushed him aside. She walked outside and to the door. "Michael."
"Mrs. Valenti." He nodded a little.
"We had a funeral." She told him quietly. "She has a headstone now." Tears stung her eyes. "Don't be a stranger."
Jim Valenti appeared beside Amy and wrapped his arm around her back. "Back in town?" He asked, and Michael nodded faintly. "There hasn't been any signs of the FBI out here since..." He sighed. "I'll give you a heads up if I hear anything."
Michael opened his mouth, then closed it. "Thank you." He told him.
Jim nodded and ushered Amy back into the house. Michael watched them go before pulling away from the house and driving out to the Cemetery. He walked along the path searching for her. When he came upon her headstone it all came down on him again. She really was dead. He let out a heavy sigh and sunk down to his knees. "I'm so sorry Maria. I never should have let you go in there."
"You know it was my idea." Michael heard her voice in his ear.
"I should have known you'd only get yourself killed."
"I knew. I knew going in there. You know that I knew."
"I don't care." He growled and turned his head. He saw her standing beside him. Michael angrily clenched his eyes shut. "Damn it, Tess. Knock it off." He hissed out. He watched as she knelt down beside him. "Really not in the mood Tess."
"She looks like me often?" She asked tilting her head to the side.
"Maria?" Michael shook his head. "No, that isn't possible. I watched you die."
"You saw me get shot. You didn't stick around to watch me die." Maria said softly. "Pierce, he was worse than Topolsky. They patched me up... and tested some more."
"The complex exploded."
"I know." Maria nodded a little. "I did it."
"How?"
"All the tests they ran, and needles they poked me with... I'm not ... normal anymore. My DNA was altered, mutated. I have... powers."
"No." Michael shook his head. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. Not Maria. Not his Maria.
She reached out and rested her hand on the grass in front of her. She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating, and then opened them again and watched as the grass began to die beneath her finger tips.
Michael watched in awe, as words slowly began to appear in the dead grass. 'I'm Sorry' He looked at her and watched as she rested her hand in her lap again and bowed her head. How was it possible? He grabbed her and crushed her against his chest. Desperate to feel her alive and in his arms. "You're alive." He breathed against her hair.
"I am."