Part 39
Isabel walked through the snow, blinking rapidly to clear her blurry vision and wishing she could take the words back. She knew it was too late for that though. She had practically accused Liz of being at fault for Alex's death.
"She wasn't you know."
She paused, taking in a deep breath and turning to look at Alex when he appeared beside her. "I don't know that. Maybe she wasn't directly responsible – "
He shook his head, silencing her. "She's not any more responsible for my death than you are. It happened, and yeah, it sucks, but the responsibility rests solely on one person's shoulders. That person isn't you and it isn't Liz." He smiled when he recognized the stubborn look on her face. He turned to nod at the cabin ahead of them, his expression thoughtful. "Go talk to Kyle about it; see what he has to say."
"There's no reason to bother Kyle with this," she denied. "Besides, I sent him to the cabin to give him a break from everyone and everything for a little while."
"Concerned about him?" he asked with a teasing smile.
"He's my friend; of course I'm concerned about him." She started walking again and she knew without looking that he was right beside her. "I'm not talking to him about this. It's not worth bringing up."
He nodded and smiled. "Okay. I suppose I should leave you alone to handle the noise level in your cabin. Sounds like your roommate's enjoying his time off."
"Um-hmm."
Her response was noncommittal and it made him chuckle. She wasn't in the mood for the loud music but he had a feeling that would be the least of her concerns once she entered the cabin. "I'm gonna take off. Let you decide whether to talk to Kyle or not." And she would, he already knew it.
She paused at the door. "You won't go far." It was a statement.
"I'll be around if you need me, Isabel."
She smiled slightly and ran her hand over the door, reaching for the knob and turning it when she heard the tumbler in the locking mechanism turn. She pushed the door in and winced at the decibel of the music coming out of the small radio. It wasn't the volume so much as his choice of music. She shut the door and dumped her things on the loveseat before going over to silence the wretched noise assaulting her auditory senses. Blessed silence fell over the cabin as she flipped the power switch and she couldn't stop the grin when Kyle's voice carried through the room as he continued to sing. It stopped a moment later and she heard his feet slapping against the floor as he went in search of whatever had stopped the music. She yanked the cord out of the wall and leaned back against the kitchen counter, twirling the cord in a circle as she waited for him, trying not to laugh as he muttered and grumbled about faulty radios and wiring. The smile slipped when he entered her field of vision wearing nothing but a pair of plaid boxers.
Kyle stopped mid-stride when he realized that the radio had stopped working due to hybrid interruption and not a short in the wiring. She arched one perfect eyebrow as her gaze moved over him and he shot a glance down at himself, clearing his throat as he backtracked to grab a pair of jeans and pull them on. Great, what was with his habit of running into blonde hybrids wearing nothing but his underwear? At least Isabel wasn't the type to snap his waistband, it just wasn't her style. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as he zipped up, slamming the door on those thoughts. The last thing he wanted to do was open up that train of thought because it had a tendency to run him over.
In the kitchen Isabel was busying herself with getting out of her winter gear and focusing on anything to keep her mind off of that brief encounter with Kyle. It wasn't the first time they had run into each other that way; six months on the run in close quarters had taken away boundaries that would otherwise be in place. But it was the first time it had happened since they had been alone. The first time she had ever really felt something she had never expected to feel around Kyle. It was just the loneliness, she decided, not looking up when he came back into the room.
"So, you're back earlier than I expected," he said, clearing his throat.
She shrugged and pulled the Santa suit jacket out of the bag. "Really wasn't much reason to stay."
He watched her for a moment. "What happened?"
"I didn't say anything happened." She stared at the threads sticking out at odd angles where Michael had ripped the button off. She sighed and shook her head. "I just don't have anything in common with them."
Kyle tipped his head to the side as he watched her. "Isabel…"
"I'm serious, Kyle. We have nothing but being on the run in common."
"What happened over there?"
"I didn't say…" she trailed off at his knowing look. "Things got said that just… shouldn't have been said."
He nudged her out of the way to get to the coffee pot, busying himself with making coffee. "Uh-huh, what'd you say?" he asked.
"Why do you assume I'm the one who said it?"
"Why're you avoiding the question?" he countered.
"Talk to him," Alex insisted.
"No," she hissed, the sound nearly inaudible.
"I could get him to bring up that little moment earlier," he warned with a teasing glint in his gray eyes.
Isabel glared at Alex as she gave a sharp shake of her head.
Kyle hid his smile when he heard her mutter under her breath, the words unintelligible. "I know the girls are close and that's gotta be kinda intimidating, but you can't just say you don't have anything in common with them. You have more than just bein' on the run in common."
"I managed to remind Maria that she left Michael after he stayed on earth for her and then I accused Liz of being responsible for Alex's death."
"Sounds like you had a busy night considering how short it was." He pulled the package of cookies down and opened it up, shoving one in his mouth before turning to look at her. "Okay, well, it's unlikely that Maria's forgotten what she did, but considering how many times he dumped her prior to his decision to stay I think there's fault on both sides there. And second, the Liz thing… Isabel, you can't hold her responsible for that." He shook his head at her. "You can't hold yourself at fault either."
"I'm the one who let Tess into our lives in the first place."
"Yeah, and if memory serves she was using that mindwarp crap on you. For all we know she was usin' that damn thing from the very beginning." He set the cookies on the table and poured a couple cups of coffee before carrying them over to the table and sitting down. He motioned for her to join him and he went on without waiting to see if she would. "Isabel, we've all made mistakes here. Tess was gonna go after Max no matter what. It didn't matter whether you were the one who let her in or not. How long did she hang out with you before she went after him? He was her target probably before she and Nacedo ever set foot in Roswell. Remember that box of pictures Liz found in their house? They hadn't been in town that long and from what Liz said it wasn't just a few pictures. Remember the camera that was found in Michael's apartment? They were probably watching him for weeks before we knew about it."
"I'm not really getting your point," she said as she sat down across from him.
"Look, she was using that mindwarp on Max not long after meeting him and we know she used it on you and Michael."
"Me and Michael?"
"That dream you guys had? The pregnancy scare? Think about it, Isabel. You and Michael have always had a brother/sister relationship so why out of nowhere would you suddenly start having dreams like that about each other? Don't you think it was pretty coincidental that they started not long after she arrived? If they were so important to your so-called destinies then why haven't you guys had them since then?"
She wondered absently if it was Liz or Maria that had shared that little gem of information because he hadn't been part of the group when that had happened. "That would mean she was able to dreamwalk and as far as we know that ability was limited to me. How else could she have done that to the both of us at the same time?"
"Okay, so maybe what she did wasn't dreamwalking, but she had to be manipulating you guys in some way. But she obviously had the ability to manipulate more than one person at once and they didn't have to be in close proximity for her to do it. Liz told me about Tess making the agents at my house and in town see Pierce at the same time so we know she was damn good at what she could do. Her intention was to drive a wedge between the hybrids and the humans and when that didn't work she upped the stakes." He munched on a cookie thoughtfully. "How could Liz have been responsible for Alex's death?"
"She kept pushing Max at Tess."
Kyle leaned back, arms crossed over his chest as he considered what she had said. "Yeah," he said finally, "she did, and I don't know why she did that. I guess she was doing what she thought was right at the time, but it wasn't easy for her to do. And she has to live with her actions, but the fact of the matter is Max was more than capable of making his own decisions." He took a drink of his coffee. "Your brother had a lot on him, I'll give him that much and I know Liz pushin' him at Tess just added to that, but it all comes down to his choice to pursue things with Tess. No one made him do that."
Isabel bit her bottom lip and toyed with the coffee mug in front of her. "You're right." Her fingernail traced over a crack in the ceramic. "Tess knew Max would never really be hers though." She rolled her eyes. "She could've never had what they had and she knew that."
"Okay… so?"
"So maybe that's why she went after Alex and made him translate that book."
"Or maybe she would've gone after him anyway, Isabel. Alex was by far the smartest in our group when it came to computers. Tess could've used that mindwarp on Liz to get her to break up with Max… we'll never know. But whatever happened, the only person at fault for what happened to Alex is Tess. It took a long time before I could get past the fact that I'm the one who carried his body out to the car. I have no way of knowin' if he'd still be alive today if I'd been able to resist that damned mindwarp."
She shook her head. "What Tess did to him – "
"That's right," he interrupted, "what Tess did to him. Liz pushed Max at Tess but that doesn't put her at fault for his death. You're the one who was nice to her at the beginning when you thought she was just the new girl but that doesn't put you at fault. I carried his body and put it in the car but that doesn't put me at fault. She had her chance to be part of our group, she and I were getting closer, and the next thing I know its Prom night and for some reason I'm suddenly feeling resistant about getting close to her. And to top it off, when we're at Prom I go off on that ass Malamoot for sayin' somethin' he had no business sayin'… about my sister! You wanna talk about a mind-fuck." He shook his head. "She was playin' all of us and she had the ability to screw with our heads, so what happened to Alex isn't on us."
"Told you," Alex muttered as he leaned over her shoulder.
Kyle looked at her when she waved her right hand through the air. "What? I'm making some very valid points here."
Isabel frowned at her hand, realizing that she had tried to wave off Alex's 'told you so'. "Oh, um, nothing. And yeah, your points are valid." She made a face at Alex when he walked around the room to stand behind Kyle.
"Why're you makin' faces at me now?"
"I'm not."
He snorted. "I beg to differ."
"Just thinking that maybe I owe Liz an apology."
"Maybe?"
She cringed when Kyle and Alex said the same thing at the same time. That's all she needed was for the two of them to gang up on her. "I'll think about it. I'm gonna go take a shower and then I think I'll go to bed."
Kyle slouched down in his chair and looked at the space around him when he heard the water come on in the shower. "I sure hope you're doin' your best to convince her she's not at fault, Whitman," he grumbled. "Yeah, I know you're around here somewhere. I think the least you could do is make yourself visible to me since I'm aware that she talks to you… and I don't think she's gone crazy so that means she sees you." He rolled his eyes and got up to get another cup of coffee when Alex didn't appear. "That's cold, Whitman."
He stared at his reflection in the toaster and he sighed heavily as his conversation with Isabel pried open the door on his memories and one of them slipped out. He rested his elbows on the counter and against his will he was sitting in his kitchen back home with Dad and Amy… and Tess.
"Is that three-cheese potato gratin?" he asked.
Tess smiled and nodded. "With bacon on the bottom. Your favorite."
He had encouraged Amy to continue with her story as he excused himself to go after Tess, standing next to her and watching Dad smile and laugh. He glanced at her and then nodded at the main dish. "So, you need me to carve that?"
"I got it, thanks," she said as she held her hand over it and sliced the turkey without ever actually touching it.
"Well, so this… this's really, uh… this's really…"
It had been the first time since Mom left when he was little that they'd had a Christmas like that. Kyle squeezed his eyes shut at the memory, angrily swiping away the single tear that had the audacity to escape.
"Stop this, Valenti," Alex insisted. He hated to see them suffering like this. He hated that Tess had been able to inflict so much damage on all of them. "Put that memory away and focus on something else."
No, Kyle thought. You don't get that from me, Tess.
Alex watched him, knowing that his conversation with Isabel had dredged up old memories that he'd rather leave buried. He glanced around the cabin, looking for something to distract the man he had become friends with before his death. An unlikely friendship for sure, but it had been a friendship all the same. "Haven't you ever wondered just what all the hype is about bein' the guy in the Santa suit?"
Kyle wandered over to the loveseat where Isabel had draped the jacket for the Santa suit and he held it up, staring at it for a moment before slipping it on. He looked down at himself and snorted. "Yeah, there's no way you could pay me enough to walk around in public in this getup."
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Max took Liz's hand as they stepped out into the cold night, leaving the warmth of Michael and Maria's cabin. He had walked back with Michael after the game ended because he didn't want Liz walking to their cabin alone. She and Maria had been talking when they got there, their expressions serious, and he had felt the hint of tension in the air.
"Michael seemed to be in a better mood," she spoke up finally.
He shrugged. "He just wasn't that thrilled about being packed in that Santa suit and then stuffed like a Christmas turkey."
She laughed quietly at that image. "He did look pretty ridiculous with pillows tied to him so Isabel could make him fat enough to look like Santa."
Max started laughing at the memory. "I was sure he was gonna burst as soon as she started poking him and wondering if he needed to be fluffier. Somehow Michael and fluffy just don't go together. Although I think it actually made my fitting seem a little less ridiculous." He squeezed her hand and cleared his throat. "Um, about my attitude over my costume earlier…" he released her to run his hand over the locking mechanism on their front door, pushing it open so she could enter ahead of him.
"Yeah, Grumpy seems to fit," she said, finishing his sentence. "Pardon the pun," she teased.
"I'm pretty sure elves and dwarves are two separate entities," he said, shooting a glare at her.
"Could've fooled me, Grumpy."
Max stared at her as he leaned back against the closed door, struck once again at just how effortlessly Liz managed to put him at ease when he felt so tongue-tied. As he watched her Michael's advice started running through his head. "Just talk to her, Max."
Liz looked at the mantel above the fireplace, thinking how much she wished she could just curl up on the loveseat and lose herself in her journal. At one time that was how she had dealt with her emotions, but now she just couldn't bring herself to put pen to paper in that manner. She sighed and walked through the cabin to the bathroom, her gaze wandering over the two-person tub and thinking about the way Maria would attempt to soak her problems away. It was worth a shot, she thought, trying to keep her thoughts from drifting back to Isabel's words.
Max followed her and opened his mouth to say something that was immediately lost at the sight of her undressing in front of him. He watched her pull the soft beige sweater over her head, leaving her in a satin chemise over her black bra. He came up behind her, his hands covering hers when they reached for the hem and stilling her movements. His eyes met hers when she turned at his slight urging and his right hand moved to settle against her neck, his thumb stroking over her cheek.
He pulled her close, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke. "I loved you from the first time I saw you in that little cupcake dress. I've always loved you, Liz. It's why I couldn't let you go that day in the Crashdown. I didn't care what happened to me, Isabel, or Michael that day; all I knew was I couldn't be without you."
Liz sighed, exhausted from everything that had happened that day. "Max…"
He hushed her by pressing his thumb against her lips and shaking his head. "Let me get this out, okay? I made a mistake when I followed Tess. I should've never let you go on the dance floor on Prom night. I didn't want to do it… but I did."
Liz pulled away from him and shook her head. "We weren't together, Max."
Max caught her arm before she could move away, pulling her back toward him. "It doesn't matter whether we were together officially or not, Liz. We've always been together and we always will be. What I'm trying so poorly to say here is that I made the wrong choice. Like you said recently, everything's a choice, and that wasn't the right one. Matter of fact, so many of them were just…"
Her vision began to blur as his words overwhelmed her. That moment on the dance floor came back to her so clearly that it nearly felt like they were standing there again. "Max, don't," she whispered, silencing him. Her own thoughts were riddled with guilt and she wasn't sure she could deal with his guilt at the same time. She took his hand, pulling him with her as she moved to the tub to start the water.
Max could see the exhaustion in her features, could feel it in her body. He sat on the edge of the tub and pulled her to stand between his knees as his hands went to the hem of the chemise and eased it up and off of her body. "Did somethin' happen while me and Michael were gone?" he asked, his hands skimming over her sides and raising gooseflesh on her skin.
"Nothing I feel like talking about right now," she said, running her fingertips over his face.
He nodded, accepting her words at face value and not pushing her to talk. He knew they needed to talk and he knew they needed to do it soon. The past with all of its guilt, mistakes, and regrets was only building up with every passing day and if they didn't talk about it soon things were only going to get worse between them. "Soon," he said quietly, leaning forward to kiss her gently. "We'll talk about it soon."
She met his gaze and nodded. "Soon," she agreed, her body settling against his when his arms came around her to hold her tightly. She sighed when his hands moved over her back, smiling against his shoulder when his nimble fingers released the catch on her bra.
He leaned back and turned the faucet off before reaching up to slip the straps from her shoulders, his touch soothing. "Whatcha say we get you into a hot bath and work some of the tension outta those muscles, Mrs. Evans?" he murmured as his eyes traced over the goosebumps on her arms.
She sighed and straightened up, her fingers going to the buttons on his shirt. "Join me?"
He caught her hands when she released the last button, bringing them up to press a kiss to her knuckles. He stood and rid her of the last of her clothes, helping her into the bathtub before stripping out of his own clothes and slipping in behind her. His arms came around her and he pulled her back against his chest, holding her close and pressing soft kisses to her neck. He smiled when her head dropped back to rest on his shoulder and he kissed her temple before sighing contentedly. No, this wasn't solving anything, but maybe, just maybe acknowledging aloud that they had some problems that needed to be worked out was a place to start.
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Michael grabbed the remote and settled into 'his' chair, sighing as he slouched down and turned the television on. His thumb punched the + on the channel button repeatedly, his eyes staring at the screen without paying much attention to it. Right back where I started this evening, he thought with a frown. He dropped the remote on the end table, wincing when it made a sharp sound as it connected with the base of the lamp. He toed his socks off and wiggled his toes once they were free from the oppressive confines of the heavy winter socks. He stretched his long legs out and crossed his feet at the ankles, immediately feeling the heat from the flames dancing in the fireplace.
He propped his elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his chin in his hand, absentmindedly running his finger over the marks left behind from his hockey game with the boys. He slouched down further, the overstuffed chair comfortably cradling his body. He dropped his head back to rest against the chair as he picked the remote up again, idly turning it over and over. He let his head roll to one side to catch a glimpse of Maggie's picture for Santa, proudly displayed on the door of the little refrigerator.
He released a small snort at the memory of decorating the yard earlier with Maggie and Miss Cindy Bear. He rolled his eyes at that. The stupid thing had gone from being nothing more than a stuffed toy to having a name that he actually remembered. He thought back to that moment when they had been walking back to the cabin and Maria had been teasing him about his day with Maggie. Their connection had felt strong, as if it had never been severed by her in the past, and he had wanted her.
They had gone back to the cabin, he had made dinner, and she had handled the kitchen afterwards while he had kicked back in front of the television for a bit. When she had finished she had joined him, squeezing into the chair beside him instead of taking the other chair. The tone for the night had been set; they had both been relaxed and taking their cues from each other. For a moment he had experienced the feeling of the two of them together in their own home. It was a dangerous place to let his thoughts go but in spite of knowing that he had done nothing to quell them. He tapped the remote against the arm of the chair as he frowned at the memory of the knock that had disrupted everything.
Leave it to Valenti the Merry Assistant to the Christmas Nazi to mess it up, he grumbled internally. He could feel that familiar tightening in his chest at the memory of that last Christmas without her. That stupid fat elf suit had just ruined everything. Putting it on had flipped some invisible switch inside of him, throwing that last Christmas into focus and ruining his good mood. All he had been able to see was him wearing one just like it in an attempt to get closer to Maria. The old pain began to take a grip on his chest as he tried to avoid last Christmas without her. He had been at the end of his rope. He had even stooped so low as to beg Isabel to let him be Santa just so he could be next to Maria. And what had happened? Oh, yeah, that's right, she turned you down and offered you hot chocolate and company on the cold front porch. And while it wasn't nearly enough, he had grabbed onto whatever she had been willing to give him. She was that essential to his existence.
Against his will his thoughts went to Billy and he had to force his grip to relax when he heard the creak of protest emitted by the remote. He sighed as he remembered all of the times he had broken up with her. He could call it whatever he wanted: walking away to keep her safe, walking away because he loved her too much, walking away because he had to discover where he was from, or walking away because he was a soldier and he had a job to do. No matter the reason, it all boiled down to walking away and leaving her behind. Unbidden, the memory of Maria's expression the night she had caught him with Courtney came to mind, making him wince. Uh-uh, not going there. He shoved those thoughts as far down as he could, not willing to open up that particular can of worms.
His thumb stroked over the remote for a moment and he started pressing the + button, forcing his mind to focus on what he was seeing on the screen. He stopped on a local channel where the weatherperson was rattling off the forecast of more snow. "Yeah, there's a shock," he muttered. He frowned when the news went to a commercial break and for just a moment the screen went black… and he could see a reflection of that damned Santa suit lying on the breakfast table. He just didn't have the words to tell her how much wearing that stupid costume brought back memories he'd rather not deal with.
He turned his head when the sound of water lapping against the edges of the tub caught his attention. His fingers moved to the scrapes on his face as he recalled Maria's earlier words to him.
"Look, maybe we don't need to do this tonight, okay?" She stroked her thumbs over the insides of his wrists. "Hey," she reached up to cup his stubborn jaw, lifting his chin and meeting his gaze, "we've had no indication they're coming. Liz hasn't had any premonitions…"
She had calmed him without calling him out on his outburst. She knew what was really bothering him. He could see it. She had given him an out and let it go with a few words and a kiss. His body had reacted to the feel of her lips against his. He closed his eyes as he remembered her words.
"We'll have our night, okay?
He smirked at the thought of her sending him to hang out with Max. He made a face when the pad of his thumb caught on one of the scratches on his face. Instead of watching the game Max had decided to talk. And not just any talk, no, they had to have one of those talks. The kind that was a hell of a lot more suited to chicks.
"What do you think when you look at Maggie?"
And his silent answer.
The future. And it was true. Maria would always be his future and while he wasn't the kind of guy who just put his thoughts and feelings out on display, he wanted a family with her. He muted the television and closed his eyes, focusing his senses on her. The heat emanating from the fireplace was hot, making his skin itch and making him uncomfortable. As the minutes slowly ticked by he could feel the familiar pull of awareness, the need to be near her. The need to be with her. He switched the television off and stood up, shooting a quick glance at the front door and making sure the chair he had wedged up under the knob as soon as he had gotten back was still in place.
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Maria could feel him standing there before she turned her head and looked up to see him. He was in the doorway, his body taking up the frame and his presence seeming to fill up the room. His big hands were hanging at his sides, half-clenched as his hungry gaze locked on her. He was bare from the waist up and she felt a rush of desire as her eyes moved over him. She saw the flash of recognition when their eyes met and he was on the move as soon as his name escaped her lips.
She rose to meet him and his eyes never left her as he snatched up a towel, his long strides quickly eating up the distance between them. She reached for him as he wrapped the towel around her and he lifted her over the rim of the tub. She took pleasure in the feel of his warm naked chest against her wet skin and there was something primitive about the smoky scent of the fireplace clinging to his long hair.
Her legs locked around him and their mouths fused together as he backed out of the bathroom, one hand out in front of him to guide him. He made his way over to fireplace, stripping the towel from her and spreading it out on the floor before laying her down. She fumbled for the button at the top of his jeans, popping it open and slipping her hand inside to explore the heated skin along the inside of his hip.
He groaned into her mouth and grabbed her wrist to stop her from doing him in. He laced his fingers through hers and raised their joined hands over her head as he continued to kiss her. His mouth left hers, moving down so his tongue could play in the hollow of her throat while he inhaled her scent. He was panting as he pulled back and his dark eyes pierced hers as he stared at her for several long moments.
He rolled to the side to remove his jeans and boxers, his hand searching the front pocket of his hastily discarded jeans for the little foil packet. He looked up when Maria came up on her elbow and reached out to take it from him. Her body brushed against his teasingly as she kissed him slowly.
"Mmm, dinner, and now this."
He cocked his head to one side, his expression quizzical as he took in the sparkling smile that lit up her eyes. "What?" he asked clueless as to what she was talking about.
Maria started to squirm under his heated gaze. "Michael…"
He took possession of the packet again, taking her hand in his and gently rolling her onto her back. "Maria." He settled over her, her body lovingly cradling his as he started to kiss her again, starting with her mouth and moving to her collarbone before reaching his destination. His lips brushed the flushed skin of her breast above his stroking thumb and he smiled at her hiss of indrawn breath. He retraced his path, his mouth meeting hers in a long, slow kiss that had her writhing beneath him.
"Michael, please."
He rose up on his forearms, their hands locked together as he surged into her. The last shreds of his patience snapped in response to her urgent plea. They fell into their rhythm and for just a moment he closed his eyes and he could see them on the floor of the Crashdown. The heat from the fireplace reminded him of another hot night when he had first gone to her. He had been drawn to her in such an elemental way; want and need had collided within him that night and now it paralleled with this moment, the feelings and desires driving every stroke.
One of his hands broke free from hers to slip down between them as he thrust hard and fast. He felt her hand slide around his neck to tangle in his hair as he threw his head back, muscles corded in response to her calling for him. With one last deep thrust he was cresting on the wave with her and then he was safely caught in her arms after his release. He rolled over, taking her with him so she was draped over him as they drew in deep gasping breaths. He watched her in the firelight as his breathing started to even out.
Maria turned her sated green eyes on him and smiled. "That's the best time I've ever had getting out of the tub."
He snorted at that. "Anytime." His left hand patted the floor next to them, finding the damp towel and dragging it closer so he could use it to help her clean up. He nuzzled her with his nose and gave her a long slow kiss before leaning back to look at her. "C'mon, let's get you into bed." He helped her up and they took the few steps over to the bed.
Maria smiled at the thought that it felt like their bed as he pulled the covers back for her to slide in before following her. He settled in beside her and it wasn't long before he was asleep, barely making a sound. Her eyes wandered over the fireplace in the center of the cabin, her gaze tracing over the painting that hung above the mantle. As a child she had stared at a similar painting and desperately wished for her dad to come back so they could be a family again but it had never happened. As an adult she was looking at a different painting and feeling hopeful that maybe she hadn't blown her chance to be Michael's home. She smiled as she snuggled in against his side and closed her eyes, letting sleep claim her.