Ending Two, Part 19 (or Part 95)

Philip was mentally running over everything he had been told by the future version of the young man standing in front of him. Michael had informed him that the director of the orphanage could be trusted and that he would handle breaking the news to the teenager and to be honest, he'd been grateful for that. Years ago when he'd first been starting out and making his way in the world he'd charged blindly into the judicial system, prepared to make a difference. He'd taken on the cases no one had wanted and he'd seen his share of kids in similar situations; kids no one had wanted, kids that had chosen the wrong path, the kids that had made one bad decision after another.

Over the years he'd focused his law career in a different direction. Marriage and parenthood had been largely responsible for that because there was a certain element of danger in the work he had been doing and he hadn't wanted it around his wife or children. He studied the teenager facing off against him, everything in his posture radiating defiance and demanding respect that he hadn't earned. Michael had more attitude than any kid his age should have, but he knew what the boy could become and that helped him to see beyond the barriers.

He recognized the look of impatience that crossed the boy's features and he cleared his throat. "I'll admit this was a bit of a shock to us too."

A shock? That's what Ward Cleaver was leading with? "What do you want from me?" His gaze shifted to bounce over the kids. "You want me to build an army with a couple of brats? Save a planet I couldn't give two shits about? Put my life and theirs on the line for a few billion people who'd be just as happy to see me dead? Or for people who'd like nothin' better than to get their hands on an alien so they could dissect it like some lower life form?" The corners of his mouth lifted in a smirk when the woman cringed at his crass words. Mission accomplished.

From his vantage point Michael listened and while he understood where his younger self was coming from, even felt that brief moment of satisfaction he knew came from the ability to shock people, it quickly faded. There was too much riding on this situation. If Evans lost him now he'd never get another opportunity to make this thing work. It wasn't the billions of people blindly going about their business that worried him. They could all go to hell as far as he was concerned. It was a feisty little blonde with green eyes and the life his younger self could have with her that made it important to him.

Surprisingly enough it was Max who broke the silence that followed. Or maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise, he mused. Diplomacy was one of the boy's strengths, even at nine years old. "You're the one who's gotta make us ready."

Michael crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze on the boy. "Says who?"

"You said so." Max moved closer to him, using the opportunity to reach out and rest his hand on the motorcycle's leather seat. "You were old. Not as old as Dad, but you were still pretty old, and you told us all about how we gotta save Liz an' Maria. Me an' Izzy, we can do some things, but it's like we all hafta be together."

"No way, kid." He shook his head. "I don't do the whole," he made a face, "family thing."

"Nobody said you've gotta live with us," Isabel interrupted. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

"That's good because it's not gonna happen."

"No, your future self explained that maintaining separate space is necessary, that your independence couldn't be compromised," Philip spoke up.

"So you're seriously tellin' me you met some version of me from the future. You actually sat down and had a talk with… me."

"Several talks actually. And as incredible as it sounds, it's true."

"And I'm gonna be some kinda soldier, a mercenary or assassin or somethin'." Hell yeah, he'd be willing to bet he'd been banging every hot chick that crossed his path. It was the perfect life for him. No strings, nothing holding him down in one place, no rules. He couldn't wait for that.

"I believe it was much more than that," Philip stated. "You took pride in your work and it wasn't the plight of the entire planet that motivated you to undertake your final mission. It was…" he trailed off as he considered his next words.

Hidden behind the rocks, Michael exhaled slowly. "Don't blow it now, Evans." He wasn't ready to hear about Maria yet, not in connection with his future. If the lawyer uttered one word about love he was going to screw it up royally because as soon as the 15-year-old finished laughing in his face he'd be gone.

"You were given the opportunity to undertake the most important mission of your life. There are certain components that must exist in order to survive and three of them are human. You and our children are the other half."

"That's not the entire equation, Evans." Michael wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist as he watched his younger self contemplate what the lawyer was saying, weighing every word and trying to determine if he could be trusted. Yeah, he'd thought that was it, but he knew differently now; the parents and even Tom were also a big part of it. Their knowledge of the truth would make them an invaluable asset.

"Where's he at now?"

"He said he'd be gone once he knew the future had been altered accordingly."

"You really are a lawyer aren't you?" Michael snorted and shook his head at the man's choice of words. He didn't say anything when the lawyer just waited patiently, making no apologies for his verbalization of his thoughts. He could respect that. Not that he'd admit it, but he did. The guy might be suburbia's idea of perfection, but he wasn't spinning a line of bull. He was playing it straight and he believed everything he was saying.

The sun's position in the sky changed just enough to throw shadows over Michael's hiding place but he didn't notice it. His fist clenched and he stared at it when he realized he couldn't feel the movement. Come to think about it, he couldn't feel much of anything. He watched his fist as it seemed to disappear right before his eyes before shimmering back into existence. He glanced at his younger self, feeling the war going on inside of him as he tried to come to a decision.

Had Maria experienced this? It was an odd sensation to feel absolutely nothing. He had always known when he finally checked out he'd be alone. There would be no one to mourn his passing, no one to miss him, and nothing to even show he'd been there. He'd never cared. Alone was just another part of who he was and he'd always accepted that, never expecting anything more. He'd had his expectations and he'd made peace with them long ago, but never had he imagined it would feel like he was simply… gone.

There was no pain but there was a hollow feeling, a coldness slipping through him, creeping along his muscles and seeming to leave a chill in his bones. He hoped this wasn't what it had been like for Maria. It wasn't right, not for her. It wasn't death; it was a slow draining away of life, of self, and he wondered if this was worse than the other option.

The odd sensation suddenly dissipated as his hand solidified once again and his head snapped up to stare at his younger self. Something was causing him to have doubts.

"This can't work," Michael suddenly muttered as he looked at the kids. "I'm 15 and these guys are nine years old. How do you propose we do whatever it is we're supposed to do?" He shook his head. "Guys my age don't hang out with kids."

"We're not like other kids," Max insisted. "An' that old you, he said we're gonna work together 'cause we gotta save Liz."

"You've got a serious hard-on for this Liz chick, don't you, kid?"

Diane's eyes widened and her tone was scandalized when she exclaimed, "Mr. Guerin!"

The teenager smirked and shot a look at her. "You that formal with your old man in the sack?"

"Michael, we have some adjusting to do on both sides, but we might as well get one thing straight here," Philip said, his eyes locked on the young man who was doing nothing to control his mouth. "I will not tolerate this type of behavior around my family. My children have been brought up to respect each other and everyone around them."

"That's just fuckin' stupid. You can't just respect everyone because you're told to. You think I respect you just because you're a lawyer? Or because you're an adult? That's bullshit! I don't know you and I don't respect anyone just because someone else thinks I should. You don't get respect until you've earned it."

"And that's fine. You're old enough to make that decision. My children however, will continue to respect themselves and others. I don't ask that you respect me or anyone else, but I do ask that you respect my rules. I do not want that kind of language or behavior around my family." He maintained steady eye contact. "Are we clear?"

Max's gaze bounced back and forth between Dad and Michael for several minutes of tense silence before he reached for the teenager's arm and gave it a tug. "Hey, Michael?"

"What?" he growled without looking away from the lawyer.

"How do you make girls be your friend?"

That got his attention. "Say what?"

"If we gotta save Liz an' one day Maria too, it'll be easier if they're our friends, right?" He grinned. "Oh, and I guess we gotta be friends with Alex too, 'cause the old you said he's gonna be special for Izzy."

"That is NOT what he said, Max!" Isabel hissed.

It was a nightmare and it was worse than he'd first imagined. Not just two nine-year-olds, no. There were more of them and they were human.

Wait. Not just more of them. There were three more of them. Liz, some chick the little prince was infatuated with. Alex, an as yet-unknown individual who was apparently supposed to be important to the little princess. And some Maria girl. If the other four were paired off, that only left two. Okay, maybe he wasn't some big math genius or anything, but even he could add one and one and come up with a disaster just waiting to happen. Not only did he not have a single intention of getting involved with just one chick in his lifetime, but he sure as hell had no interest in some nine-year-old girl being in his future at some point.

Fuck no! She'd still be jailbait when he was 21!

"Maria's weird," Isabel said out of the blue. She shrugged when Michael leveled his annoyed gaze on her.

"Isabel Evans," Diane admonished.

"It's true, Mom! And her mom sells alien stuff!"

The teenager snorted at the girl's protest. Obviously she couldn't imagine a future with that Maria girl in it either. What could he possibly ever have in common with… he frowned. "Alien stuff?"

"Yeah, she's always got that stuff with her. She even wears shirts with alien pictures on them like she thinks that's what we look like."

So the little princess wasn't happy about this future association either. Max was quite accepting, but obviously if he was getting what he wanted out of the deal he had every reason to go along with things. But now he wasn't just getting saddled with some girl, she was some girl that already had preconceived notions about aliens.

"Maria's not like that," Max denied. "She's kinda nice."

Isabel's expressive eyes rolled when her brother defended Maria. He'd think anyone who defended the object of his affection was nice. "You're just saying that because she got in a fight with that boy when he pushed Liz on the playground."

"The Deluca's are a very nice family," Philip spoke up in an effort to diffuse the argument brewing between his children. Admittedly he'd had a thought or two about them being a little odd himself, but that was neither here nor there.

"Wait, so we're talking about that crazy chick that owns that tourist trap downtown?" He shook his head when the lawyer confirmed his suspicions. Yeah, he knew who that Maria girl was now. He'd never met her, but he'd been hanging around downtown last summer, practicing his pick-pocketing skills on the tourists when an argument had caught his attention.

"You better take that back!"

She had been standing on the sidewalk in front of that freak show her mother owned and operated, her skinny arms crossed over her chest as she glared at some kid who was easily twice her size. Her face had flushed with anger when the boy blew her off and brushed past her.

"I seen you take it!" she yelled as she chased after him. "Thief! You stole from our store and you better give it back or pay for it!"

When he ignored her and kept walking she took up the chase, plowing into the kid and only succeeding in knocking herself to the ground. She had refused to give up though. She'd gone after him again, hurling herself at the backs of his knees and taking him down. The kid hadn't known what had hit him. She'd been a flurry of arms and legs, her righteous indignation fueling her resolve and making her unpredictable.

"Maria Deluca!"

He'd shot a dismissive glance at the hippie that came running down the street. She had hurriedly pried her daughter off of the kid and sent him on his way before turning to look at the girl.

"You let him get away," Maria protested. "He stole from us!"

Amy crouched down in front of her daughter and tried to straighten her clothes and pick stray bits of leaves and grass from her hair. "And he'll eventually pay for that, but violence isn't the answer. Do you understand me?"

He had tuned her out at that moment, done with her and her preaching. He pushed away from the wall when a guy walked out of the store, intentionally bumping into him and liberating his wallet even as he apologized for being in his way. The apology wasn't sincere and he sure as hell wasn't sorry for taking the guy's money. Or his watch, he thought as he tossed it up in the air and caught it again. No, if anything he was sorry he had to share the planet with the morons who inhabited most of it.

"Smart move," he muttered when he realized there were no credit cards inside. Not that it mattered. He wasn't dumb enough to use stolen credit cards. He pulled the wad of cash out and pocketed it before ditching the wallet in a storm drain where the elements would destroy any traceable evidence.

He snorted softly as the memory faded. Violence wasn't the answer, huh? He'd bet she'd change her tune if she knew her daughter would one day be part of the fight against invading forces in an intergalactic war.