Ending 1 – Part 4 (or Part 66)

In the next room Michael's mind was too active to let him sleep. He paced restlessly, turning over the events of the day and everything he had learned. He couldn't decide which one was more important: Maria's admission that she loved him or the Granolith's offer to send him with Maria back to her universe.

He was having a difficult enough time trying to wrap his mind around her admission that she was in love with him; trying to understand how she could be in love with both him and his double was tying him up in knots. He didn't know what that meant for him or his future, and possibly even more important, what it meant for him and Maria as a couple.

It had been pretty obvious that she didn't believe that he was carrying her Michael around inside of him and part of him was glad that she didn't. Part of him selfishly wanted her never to believe him because he wanted to know that she was with him for him and not because it was an opportunity for her to hold on to his double.

He grabbed a beer from the small refrigerator and moved to stand at the balcony doors as his thoughts picked up speed. Even if she chose to stay with him it wouldn't solve the other problems, he thought. What if she started to believe that her Michael was inside of him? How would he ever know if she had chosen to stay with him for him or because she thought there was a chance that he was right? He knew how much she missed her friends and she had told him what was coming in her universe; was it right for her to stay with him in his universe when that danger was imminent?

The deciding factor was Maria; whether she chose to go back to her universe or wanted to remain in his, he knew she would never find him. He had a couple of good friends but they had their own lives, they were ex-soldiers, and they knew that at any time any one of them might leave and never be seen again for whatever reason. He had a job, but he could get a job anywhere and at least in her universe he'd be with Maria and he'd have the opportunity to get to know others like him.

He walked over to the connecting door and pulled it open just a bit to let the light from his room spill into hers and illuminate it just enough for him to see her. He crept into her room and as he had so many nights, he crouched down beside her bed and waited for her hand to make the journey across the mattress to wrap around his.

Peace settled over him when her hand linked with his. Really it all came down to one thing – Maria. He loved her and he wasn't willing to give her up whether she stayed in his universe or returned to her own. She needed to be with the people she cared about, needed her best friend in a way that he didn't understand, but he knew it was important to her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Maria awoke early the next morning and as she rolled over she automatically reached across the empty space beside her. She smiled slightly when she detected a hint of leftover warmth where Michael had spent the night watching over her. The smile slipped when she remembered their situation. She wanted so badly to go back home; things were good in this universe, but it wasn't home and she missed her family and friends so much. She couldn't help but wonder what they were doing and if they were safe.

She knew she still had to deal with her mixed emotions where Michael was concerned; she couldn't just ignore the feeling of betrayal she felt for falling in love with this universe's version of Michael. She also couldn't imagine going back to her universe and leaving him here, alone. She did love him and the thought of spending the rest of her life without him wasn't one she wanted to contemplate very long. She also didn't want to think of him being left in this universe alone when she went back because she knew she had to go back. She couldn't stay here knowing that Khivar would attack one day and everyone she loved would be in danger.

"Breakfast is getting cold."

She looked up when Michael hollered from the other room and she got up to get dressed before going over to his room to face him.

Michael was already seated at the table by the window, scanning over the sports page, when she entered the room. He glanced up and let his dark eyes slide over her as she crossed the room to join him. He took a bite of the steak on his plate as he waited to see if she would reprimand him for ordering something so bad for him for breakfast. He reached out and tapped the end of his steak knife against the covered plate that had been placed in front of the second chair. "Pancakes, sausage – patties, not links – with a side of hash browns that're golden brown but not too crunchy." He shrugged when she looked at him curiously. "You don't care for steak at breakfast."

Maria nodded and decided to let his choice for breakfast food go without comment. She sat down and uncovered her meal, smiling when she saw that it had been cooked to perfection. No one ever got it right the first time which meant that he had probably read someone the riot act at least once, she thought, but only said, "Thank you."

He nodded and went right on reading his newspaper while eating his breakfast, waiting to see if she would say anything about the day before. When she still hadn't said a word by the time he had finished browsing the box scores he folded the paper over and tossed it aside.

Maria looked up when he cleared his throat and she wondered what he was going to say. She hadn't known what to say and it was hard to ignore the tension in the air between them.

"I was up most of the night, thinkin' about this situation and I've decided that I'm gonna go with you to your universe."

She didn't know what she had been expecting him to say, but that wasn't it. She had no reason to think that he would leave everything he knew to be with her. "What?"

"Logically, it makes the most sense; Earth in your universe is lookin' at an invasion by Khivar at some point in the future and if that has any chance of bein' stopped you're gonna need someone with my knowledge and experience on your side. You've got two other hybrids in your universe and they've seen some action, but they don't know dick about goin' up against an enemy as formidable as this Khivar guy would have to be if he plans to invade Earth." He shrugged one shoulder. "Regardless of whether or not you decide to stay with me I won't leave you in a place where you're at risk. Your universe, my universe," he shook his head, "doesn't matter; wherever you are is where I'll be." Decision made, he stood and stretched.

"We should go back to the Granolith," she blurted out. She was still shocked by his declaration, but she didn't want him to think he should change his mind.

"What, now?"

She bit back a small smile, aware that he was in no hurry to go back to the device he was on such antagonistic terms with. "It wouldn't hurt to have more information."

"Well, it never hurts to have more information, but that damn thing talks in riddles. I don't think it gives a shit that I'm supposed to be some kinda royalty."

"No, it really doesn't seem to care about anyone's position in life."

"Damn thing seems to be rather fond of you though."

There was no way to miss the annoyance in his tone, but she didn't want to laugh at him because it would only put him in a bad mood.

"Let's go back an' talk to the Granolith then and after that we'll head back to L.A. so I can get started on what I need to do to arrange for this trip."

Maria nodded and they finished breakfast in silence. Michael had made his decision and he was satisfied with it, so questioning him about it would only irritate him. She would have asked him to come back with her if he hadn't brought it up first, but in a way she was relieved that he had already made a decision.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They could feel the familiar hum of the Granolith as they entered the chamber that housed the device and Maria accepted the hand Michael held out to her as she crawled out of the pod. She just shook her head when he walked over to the device and knocked on it just like he had done before.

"I seem to recall the Granolith telling you to keep your hands to yourself the last time you did that."

"Do you hear it talkin'?" he asked.

"You have returned, impatient one," the device rumbled with a raspy, mechanical chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Michael muttered. "Fuckin' know-it-all."

"You have reached a decision."

Maria hid a smile when the Granolith accurately guessed the reason for their visit and she could see that it visibly annoyed Michael. "We have, Granolith."

The color shifted to the warmer green and when the mechanical voice spoke again it seemed more serious. "The decision must be certain."

"You wanna spell that out a little more?"

"Explain."

"He means, can you explain why the decision must be certain," Maria clarified.

"The journey to return to your universe will be your final journey through this device," it warned. "Regardless of the outcome, once this journey is undertaken, there can be no going back."

"And you're supposed to be so powerful," Michael scoffed.

"The Granolith exists in many universes, it contains an infinite amount of power, but it is not within its ability to take on the role of its masters and change the rules."

"We'll be goin' back to Maria's universe as soon as I've taken care of a few things," Michael said decisively.

"And you understand that you will not be able to change your mind once you have completed the journey."

Michael turned to look at Maria. "And we needed to inform this hunk of junk for what reason? We could've gone back to L.A. so I could get things ready and then come back here to deal with all these warnings and double talk."

"Granolith, we understand that our decision must be final because this trip will not be made again," Maria said, earning her another glare from Michael.

"You have duties to carry out before your final journey, young human?" it asked kindly.

"Yes, certain arrangements must be made first," she answered.

"Very well. I will await your return." The Granolith shifted back to its normal color, indicating that it had returned to its dormant state.

Michael stared at the device as it fell silent. "That thing… it's no wonder the aliens sent it to Earth," he muttered derisively. "Probably got sick of its attitude." He turned and walked back over to the pod that connected the chambers. "C'mon, we need to get back to L.A. so I can get things settled."

Maria took one last look at the Granolith before taking the hand he held out to her and crouching down so she could climb through the pod.