Chapter Two

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Metallica or Tabasco sauce, or Coke a Cola. I do however own random characters, like the annoying waitress

The old Jetta pulled into a diner at the side of the road. They hadn't been traveling long, but Maria insisted that she had to pee. Maybe after all the times she used that excuse on the cops, she got a bladder problem. Who knows? All Michael wanted was her not to pee in his new used car. They had barely stopped moving when she jumped out of the car. "I guess I'll stay here then." He called after her. She ignored him, and instead ran faster. He shook his head, she was crazy. Well, there wasn't much to do except wait. He turned on the radio, then quickly turned it off again. It was crap Christian rock music. He was really wishing he hadn't packed his Metallica CDS in the his suitcase, which happened to be at the very bottom of the pile in the back. He glanced at the radio clock. Did it really take that long to pee? She should be back by now. He was starting to get worried. You know, even though they thought that the Special Unit was gone, they had been wrong before. So he got out of the car, and trying to be inconspicuous as he walked. He scratched the back of his head, and looked at his feet as he walked. He reached for the doorhandle, and as he did, someone barreled into him. The person bounced a little, and he reached out to steady them. "Maria?" He asked, looking down at her. She appeared to be a little out of breath, and pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Michael... I was just coming to get you."

"To get me? Maria, we have to get going. I told Langley we'd be there by now." Michael said. Maria rolled her eyes, and pointed behind her.

"Yeah, well tell Miss "You can't use the bathroom unless you pay", that." He groaned. Damn.

"Why didn't you come back out then? We could have gone to a gas station, and not have paid to use the bathroom!"

"I thought she was kidding! The only reason I was even going to be allowed outside after I got out of the bathroom , was because I told her my boyfriend was waiting outside. She was letting me get you, saying it would be rude to just leave you out there. But I know she just wanted another customer to get money out of."

"Yeah, well let's get this over with." Maria smiled and looped her arm with his.

"That's the spirit!" She said as they approached the seating waitress. She lead them to a booth, and then left, saying that she'd be back in a couple of minutes. "Just don't give her a big tip, alright?" She whispered. He looked at the menu. Nothing extraordinary, in fact, he could probably make all of this stuff, powers not withstanding. No wonder they had to bribe people into buying stuff from here. "Not exactly mouth watering, huh?" Maria said, a smirk on her face. Michael couldn't help thinking again that they were on the same mind wave. Before he could respond, the waitress came back. She stood above them, chewing gum loudly.

"Want to start out with drinks?" She asked, smacking her lips. Michael and Maria looked at each other.

"Yeah, a coffee would be good." Maria said. Michael sent her a look.

"Do you think that's a good idea? Especially because of your bladder problem." Michael said. Maria glared at him.

"Shut up." She said. Michael shrugged, a smirk on his face. The waitress cleared her throat loudly.

"Are you gonna order, or should I leave you two with your personal issues?" She asked impatiently. "I got other customers waiting." She said, waving her pen. Michael and Maria looked around her. There only appeared to be one more couple, and they had their food already.

"Um, yeah, I'll get a drink. A Coke? Oh, and if you have any Tabasco sauce, I'd like that brought with the drinks."

"Sure" The waitress said curtly. They watched her walk away with similar looks of disgust.

"Defiantly a small tip." Maria said, shaking her head. This menu was horrible. She was regretting forcing Michael to pull over here. "Michael..."

"Hmm?"

"You're sure that Langley is all good about me coming?" She asked. Michael looked up at her, his eyes narrowing.

"What, you don't trust me?" He asked, his voice dangerous. She glared back at him.

"Don't be a bone head, alright? I don't trust the" She leaned in, "Czechoslovakian is all."

"He saved all of our lives."

"I know. But I'm not Czechoslovakian is all, and you are. Maybe he thought he'd convince you more if he said that I got a record deal too."

"Stop being dramatic. He's not into deceiving us." Maria gave him a look, "Alright, maybe he is. But he wants money. And if you get a record deal from his company, and make money, then he'll get rich. It's all in the math." Michael said. Maria nodded. That was true. Rich snobby produces like Langley did like money. She still didn't trust him. She's have to make sure he didn't pull one over on Michael. The waitress came back with their drinks, and a half full bottle of Tabasco sauce.

"Ready to order?" She asked, chewing her gum loudly.

"I am. Michael?" Maria said. He nodded. "Alright, I'd like a hamburger with a side of fries. No onions."

"Alright." The waitress said in a bored tone. "Sir?"

"Yeah, I'll get the double cheeseburger with the bacon on top. And I'd like to get the chocolate cake for dessert. Oh, and another bottle of Tabasco sauce when that comes please." The waitress's eyes widened, but she grabbed their menus and walked away.

"Michael." Maria whispered, "Not exactly hiding, now are we?" She asked. Michael was pouring all of the half-full Tabasco sauce bottle into his Coke.

"What?" He asked, his mouth full of soda, some of it spilling out as he talked. She smacked his shoulder, but she was smiling as she did so. This was the old Michael, and the old Maria. She had missed this. The waitress hadn't reappeared yet, and it was occurring to Maria that they didn't have napkins, or utensils. She scoffed.

"If this woman worked for Mr. Parker she would have fired long ago. She wouldn't have lasted for a minute." She said. "I worked my ass off there."

"Uh huh." He said drinking the rest of his coke. He's heard this story plenty of times. She was glad that she didn't have to work there anymore, but she wanted everyone to know that she was a damn good waitress. "Look, since I have to spend money here, next time you have to pee, we're stopping at whatever gas station I want." Michael said. Maria crossed her arms. The waitress set their orders down in front of them with a plop.

"Eat up." She said, and walked away.

"Lovely woman." Michael said. He practically lathered his burger in Tabasco sauce, before taking a large bite out of it. She'd never get used to that. She'd finished first, and decided to go to the bathroom, just in case. When she passed the waitress on the way, Maria muttered,

"I bought food bitch, don't stand in my way." When she came back, Michael was waiting for her at the door. "You leave a tip?" She asked as they walked to the car.

"Yup."

"Michael!"

"I didn't say that I left a good tip." He said, ducking beneath the top of the car door. She smiled, and did so too.

She could tell he was tired, even if he was trying to hide it. They had traveled for a long time endlessly since the diner. And they were very close to Hollywood now, but she didn't want him risking going into that kind of traffic tired. She had to somehow make him think she was the one that needed the rest. "Michael, look at the time. It's midnight. I'm sure Langley wouldn't mind us coming in tomorrow. We're already late." She said. "Come on, I need to sleep! We've been on the road for hours, and I think I've been pretty good about it. But for goodness sake, I need sleep. And not in the car. A hotel. A decent hotel!" She said.

"Fine. But tomorrow you don't say a word about food or having to pee tomorrow."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She said, smiling to herself. Worked every time. They pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. "Do you think we should leave all of our stuff out here?" Michael shrugged.

"It's that or having to carry all of it back out tomorrow. And that takes more time." He said. Maria agreed that it would be a pain. She followed him to their room, and Michael face planted onto the top of bed. Maria pushed him, to roll him over, and pulled the sheets far enough down to get him under them. Then she pulled them over him. She walked away to go take a shower, marveling at how peaceful he looked when he was sleeping.

Michael awoke in a start. Where was he? He was frenzy until he remembered that he was in hotel with Maria. Maria. He reached out next to him. She was there. But, something was wrong. She was shaking. He turned to look at her. She was crying and talking in her sleep. "No, no. Michael! No, don't put him in the white room! No! I'll do anything! No, he hasn't done anything to get dissected. MICHAEL!" She shouted. He grabbed her, and held her in his arms.

"Shhh. I'm here, I'm here. I'm safe. It's Ok. Sh." He said, petting her hair. She started to calm down, and they fell asleep again, with their arms around each other.

A/N: At this point I feel like I'm writing this for just me, because I don't know if you guys like it. So PLEASE REVIEW so I can know. Alright, thanks.