Part 4

Max was oblivious to everyone else in the room as he watched Maggie carry on a conversation with her stuffed animal. She was a friendly child and she had introduced 'Cindy' the polar bear to each of them as breakfast had been served. She conversed with the toy and he had quickly realized that she spoke for Cindy, giving voice to her own questions through the bear. He smiled when she lifted the bear up and held it close to her ear, listening to imaginary whispers of conversation from the apparently shy toy.

He was fascinated with her and he couldn't stop the questions that were bombarding him. It happened every time he observed children and the way they interacted with their parents and the world around them. When he had given his son up he had also given up a piece of his heart and soul and he was plagued by questions… and guilt.

What were his son's adoptive parents like? Did he have a dad who spent time with him, who was involved with him and who would teach him everything he needed to know? His gaze lowered to the stuffed toy 'talking' to Maggie and he wondered if his son had a favorite toy and what it was. Did he have a mother who would hold him when he was hurt, soothe his nightmares and love him unconditionally? He would never have the answers to his questions because he knew he could never risk endangering his son's life by trying to find him.

He glanced up when he felt his wife's gaze on him and he mentally shook himself free of his thoughts. Since they had left Roswell he had been so careful to hide how much he missed his son because he didn't want to burden Liz with his pain. He tried to keep his focus on them or on her while keeping that part of him buried. He smiled at her when she sat down in the empty chair between him and the little girl.

Maggie lifted her head to look at the pretty girl sitting down next to her and while the adults were all exchanging 'good mornings' she lifted Cindy up to her ear once more. "Cindy likes your ring," she said, her free hand unconsciously creeping along the edge of the table.

"Does she?" Liz smiled and glanced at her rings. "Oh, that's so sweet."

Max leaned around his wife to look at the child. "Maggie, this's Liz. She's my wife." His gaze moved to Liz. "She's a little bit shy," he said quietly before stretching his hand out to gently touch the stuffed animal. "This's Miss Cindy the Bear, she's Maggie's friend."

The little girl turned her head to look at Mama's hand where it rested on the table next to her and she stared at the rings there for a moment. "You have rings like Mama an' Daddy."

"Maggie, it's about time for your bus. You need to finish eating so you have time to get into your coat, leggings and boots," Julia said, distracting Edward from the reaction she knew was coming in response to their daughter's announcement.

"I'm finished, Mama," she said as she slid down off of her chair.

"Alright, go get ready and Daddy will walk you out."

She was back in minutes, all bundled up and ready for the walk down the driveway. "C'mon, Daddy, we gotta go 'fore the bus comes."

Edward wiped his mouth with his napkin and nodded. "Alright, give Miss Cindy Bear a kiss and put her in her chair so she can watch for your bus this afternoon." He stood to follow her out of the room and paused when she suddenly stopped in front of him.

Maggie was on her way out of the room when she found herself facing another girl. Her eyes widened as she tipped her head back to look up and her mouth formed an 'O' of surprise. "Wow," she whispered, turning back and forth from the waist up as she clutched Cindy closer to her chest. "You're pretty… like Glenda the Good Witch." She leaned back to look at Daddy. "Isn't she, Daddy?"

Edward was saved having to answer that question when Julia spoke up, reminding them that the bus would be there very soon. He smiled politely and herded his youngest past 'Glenda' so they could get down to the end of the driveway without having to make a run for it.

Kyle and the others exchanged a knowing look and he waited until Isabel had greeted Julia and taken the seat across from him before he spoke. "Hot shower did wonders for you," he said with a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

"Perhaps you should spend more than three minutes under the shower. Does wonders for the complexion," she said dismissively as she shook her napkin out.

He nodded and chewed a bite of pancake. "Hmm, that's good advice," he muttered. "Maybe later you could help me out with a facial."

"Couldn't hurt your ugly mug," Michael mumbled around a mouthful of food. He checked his watch before cutting his last piece of sausage in half.

"There's no need to rush," Julia spoke up when she noticed what he was doing. "Edward will be happy to give you a ride." She shook her head when the first two girls to the table stood and started clearing away the dirty dishes. "Oh, that's not necessary."

"It's the least we can do," Maria insisted.

Michael was finishing up the last bite when the man of the house came back inside and a few moments later he stepped into the kitchen.

"I told Michael you'd run him down to their vehicle," Julia said, reaching up to pat Edward's hand when he came to stand behind her with his hand on her shoulder.

"Um-hmm," he said, watching the young people filling the room. "I've got your car warmin' up." His gaze followed Michael as he stood with his plate and carried it over to the sink, pausing next to his girlfriend and speaking to her quietly. She shook her head at whatever he said and Edward almost laughed at the confused look on the kid's face when the girl turned to grab another stack of dishes to add to the dishwater.

Kyle stood up from the table, turning to add his plate to the stack in Liz' hands as she passed him. "I'll go with you." He rolled his eyes at Max and Liz; they were making goo goo eyes at each other and personally he could live without that. Just a matter of hours that they had been out of the mini bus they had been calling home and they were already re-familiarizing themselves with each other.

"No." Michael shook his head. If Maria was staying at the house Max and Kyle were both staying there with her and the other girls to keep an eye on things. The mini bus had broken down on his watch and it was his responsibility to fix this mess.

Damn. "Guerin, did ya happen to notice the way she was eyeballin' the Christmas lights on the porch this mornin'?" He shot a glance at Isabel. Uh-huh, he could see it. That little anticipatory twitch had started to show itself. Not enough that the crazed gleam had entered her eyes just yet, but it was coming.

"No."

Kyle leaned in closer to Michael. "C'mon, Guerin," he hissed quietly, "we all know that 'Glenda' is just dyin' to turn into the Christmas Nazi."

"What was that?" Isabel inquired in that tone that suggested she knew exactly what he had said.

"Nothin'," he denied.

Michael shook his head unsympathetically. "No."

"You can't leave me here with El Presidente and the Christmas Nazi… that falls under cruel and unusual punishment."

"There are laws against that you know," Maria chimed in.

Michael rolled his eyes when she and Liz glanced at each other and started laughing at what had to be a private joke.

"It'll be perfectly fine if Kyle goes with you, Michael," Maria said quietly, bringing his thoughts back to their current situation.

"No. He and Max are stayin' with you while I go check out that piece of crap."

"Oh, look what I've found," Julia said as she came into the kitchen carrying a couple of coats.

Michael frowned. Between Kyle, Liz and Maria he hadn't noticed her leaving the room and he mentally kicked himself for the slip.

"Yes, I think these will do just fine," she said as she shook the first one out and handed it to Kyle. "I'm sure this'll be much warmer than your sleeping bag jacket." Her smile was gently teasing as she watched him slip it on. She turned to Michael and held out the second old work coat she had dug out of the closet.

"I'm okay," he said, shaking his head.

"Do you remember how cold it was last night? It's not much warmer out there now."

He reached for the coat, accepting it only when Maria shoved her elbow in his ribs to motivate him. He shrugged into the coat and then had to endure his girlfriend tugging the sides together and standing back to scrutinize his appearance. He glanced over at Kyle when he heard him thanking Julia for the coat and gloves he was shoving his hands into.

"My goodness, I don't think Edward's gloves will fit you," Julia said, glancing at Michael's hands.

He shrugged and shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He shoved his hands in the coat pockets. The coat was already more than he was comfortable with. He was used to Isabel's bullying and Maria's cajoling but anyone else fussing over him crossed the line into his comfort zone.

Edward cleared his throat. "Well, I think the car's warmed up enough so you boys c'mon an' I'll run you down to your vehicle."

Michael didn't like the odds. He trusted Max to take care of Maria in his absence and he knew Isabel would do whatever was necessary to protect all of them, but he preferred to have Kyle there for backup. They would be away from the house, separated, vulnerable…

"Michael." Maria called his name quietly, knowing exactly where his thoughts were. She stretched up to give him a soft kiss. "We'll be fine here."

He nodded. "Alright, this shouldn't take long."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kyle sat in the middle of the backseat, glancing between the two silent men in the front. He could see the similarities in their demeanors and he wondered if anyone else had noticed it. The men were carefully sizing each other up while trying not to be obvious about it and neither of them was comfortable leaving their woman with strangers. He hadn't been surprised when Michael had called shotgun and climbed into the front seat. Not that it would have mattered if he had called it first, he mused.

"So, Edward, I noticed the sign on your front porch, Stevens' Sanctuary," he said to break the silence. "What do you do?"

"We run a resort, rent cabins out most of the year. Most folks come up to hunt, fish or just kick back for a bit. This time of year they come up for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. And if they need a guide out here I provide that too."

"Haven't seen anyone around," Michael commented, looking to the left and right as they reached the end of the driveway. He absently noted the haziness of the sunlight as Edward turned the car to the left, pulling out onto the road.

"We close up shop over the holidays. Better to make time for the family than make that extra buck or two."

Un-huh, Michael thought. His wife pulled rank on that one.

"Guess this wouldn't be your busy season, huh?" Kyle asked.

"This time of year it thins out a bit as far as guests are concerned so it gives us a little vacation and time with the family." He chuckled under his breath. "Gives Julia a break from the constant interruption of folks knockin' on the door. Me, I don't mind, but the wife likes her personal space and after 11 months of that pretty much non-stop she's ready for a break."

Kyle turned to look over his shoulder at the house as they reached a small dip in the road and he caught sight of the mini bus up ahead. "Boy, that sure seemed a lot longer last night," he said, shaking his head.

Edward pulled past the mini bus and made a wide u-turn to pull up behind it. "That tow should be here anytime now."

"I'll wait for the truck," Michael insisted as he opened the door. "We've gotta grab our things so Kyle can take them back." He got out of the car without waiting for an agreement from Edward that he would wait or an assent from Kyle that he would go back to the house.

"If you need to get back it's not a big deal," Kyle said as he slid across the bench seat. He shrugged as Edward glanced at Michael and then back at him. "It's just the way he is." He climbed out of the car and put a lid on his temper as he stalked around the side of the bus to join Michael. He was getting tired of being ordered around like an underling without a brain of his own.

He remained silent as he climbed inside and started gathering his and Isabel's things out of habit, followed by the few tools he had collected over the past few months. He frowned at the black trash bags their things were stashed in, knowing how pathetic it looked. He shoved those thoughts aside when a box was thrown over the seat to land next to his left hand, narrowly missing his fingers.

"That's the last of it," Michael muttered as he dropped down out of the bus and walked to the passengers' side door to yank on it.

"You melted it closed last night, moron," Kyle snapped as he dropped down to stand next to him.

Michael glared at him as he pressed his palm over the lock and reversed the process. He pulled the door open and leaned inside, grabbing the last of Maria's things and stashing them in one of the bags. "You got somethin' to say?"

"Yeah, I'm not some little kid who needs to be told what to do. I think I've been involved in this long enough that you should get off my ass and let me do things without tellin' me what I need to do."

Michael inhaled a deep lungful of cold air as he turned his head to stare up at the sky. He watched it for a few moments as it began to morph from a dim white light into a light shade of gray. He forced his voice to soften, momentarily losing the commanding edge it had a tendency to take on. "They'll be safer with you there."

Kyle's mouth dropped open for a moment before he caught himself. Michael trusted him with Maria, trusted him to keep her safe. And it was probably as close as he would ever come to saying the words. He gathered their things up and carried them back to the car, carefully placing them on the backseat and going back for the toolbox. He met Michael's gaze as he reached for the bag he held. "We'll be there when you get back, Mi Capitan."

Edward shifted to the side to watch the exchange between the two young men, catching very little of it from his position leaning into the passengers' seat. He wondered about this little vacation they claimed to be taking since their luggage consisted of trash bags and cardboard boxes. He shifted back to his side when they separated and Kyle walked back over to the car, slipping in the snow as he reached for the door handle.

"Okay, that's the last of it," Kyle said as he settled into the front seat and placed the toolbox on the floor between his feet.

"Nice suitcases," Edward commented.

Kyle smiled and shrugged. "It gets the job done."

"I s'pose so." He shot one last quick glance at Michael before putting the car in gear and pulling back out onto the road.