Title: What She Needed

Author: Chesarae

E-mail: [email protected]

Category: Michael/Maria

Rating: PG-13 for now

Summary: A story I thought interesting; what if M & M lived together and then Michael realized he couldn�t love Maria like she deserved, but it was too late--he�d already given a permanent piece of himself to her.

Disclaimer: I don�t own any of the characters of Roswell, they belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and the show.

Part 1

M&M, Michael and Maria, that�s who they had been, all through high school and even afterwards. After graduation they went on with Michael taking night classes in art and working during the day, and with Maria finding herself in school while working nights as a waitress. They had found this little apartment with a few problems, but they had made it their home. Or, at least that�s what Maria had thought.

Five years, they had lived there. It wasn�t until after they had graduated from college that the problems had started. It was then that Michael became restless. It was then that he had told Maria that he could never love her like she deserved to be loved. It was then that her beautiful, fragile heart had broken.

At first, she couldn�t believe it. Michael had become her life, and to live without him was nothing. Her future was blank, an endless expanse. Maria took her belongings and left Roswell, never turning back. She settled in California, on the waterfront. It was hard; she missed life in Roswell. She missed how it was to be with her friends and family. She called her mother every Sunday to let her know that she was doing fine.

A month after the move, Maria began getting sick in the mornings. It seemed Michael hadn�t left her at all; in pushing her away, he had deeply buried himself within her. Maria was in a new town, leading a new life, as well as carrying a new life within herself. Life was just beginning.

Maria gave birth to her joy seven months later, on a dark, stormy day. She was the most beautiful baby that Maria had ever seen. She had the tiniest hands and feet, a soft patch of strawberry-gold curls on the top of her head, and bright, dancing eyes. Maria held her hand around her daughter�s and cried for the father her daughter would never know. She named her Sky Michaela-Elizabeth DeLuca. Elizabeth for Lizzy. Michaela for Michael. And Sky, Sky was for that wonderful vast space that had brought her love, whom had given her joy.

Sky grew up to be a beauty. She had most of her mother�s looks. She had her arched eyebrows, her rich full lips, and she had a button of a nose. Her hair was a vivid golden-auburn, and it hung in soft curls to her waist. Her eyes were a fiery liquid-brown; they were her father�s eyes.

As a small child, Sky would have nightmares about a strange place where war dominated. And sometimes, she would simply dream of the stars. She grew up watching the other children play softball at the father-daughter games, and wanted that too. It hurt her not to know what it felt like to be wrapped in the warmth of a fathers embrace, but that was a secret that she learned to keep hidden.

After Maria had left, Michael had been lost. He had loved Maria, but because of who he was, he had never been able to give into the security of her love. He had always felt so on guard. He figured with him out of the picture, she could be free. He had thought that she would never understand that she owned a piece of him for eternity.

It was in Isabel that Michael sought comfort. They had the same destiny. A year after Maria had gone, Michael and Isabel were lovers. Two years later, they were married, and almost a year after that, their son Jace Maxwell Guerin was born.

Eleven Years Later...

�Man! You�d think people couldn�t be any more pathetic!� Sky DeLuca raved at her best friend Lennie, short for Caroline. She was greatly disturbed by the work of art that her little, red jetta had become (hey, some things never change). There was toilet paper strewn everywhere.

�Sky, you know they�re just getting you back for that stunt you pulled at Cole Wade�s party last weekend,� Lennie replied to her life-long friend.

�I know,� Sky answered, �But still, toilet paper? How original is that one?�

With that they were off to work. They both had applied as waitresses at a local diner, The Red Roof. Fortunately, they had both been hired.

�So,� Lennie said as they stood adjusting their uniforms in the girls restroom, �what are your plans for this weekend Sky?�

Turning to face Lennie, Sky answered, �I don�t know. Maybe do our usual get together tomorrow night, and I thought I might spend a little down time with Mom on Sunday. She�s been a little distant lately.�

�Yeah, I know what you mean,� Lennie replied, �But you are truly lucky Sky, not many people get a mom as terrific as yours. Even though my mom didn�t live to see me grow up, I feel blessed to have your mother to call mom.�

�Okay, let�s hit the floor,� Sky gestured towards the door, after nodding in agreement to Lennie�s remark.

The hours flew by as the girls were kept busy by the many Friday night customers. It was nearing ten o�clock and business had slowed down quite a bit. They were open for another hour, and there were only about four tables left.

�Hey Sky,� Sam, another waitress, spotted her and said, �You just got a table in section-B, four of them.�

Sky picked up four menus and headed for the table.

From the looks of it, there were two couples. A handsome, serious-faced man with dark, good looks, and with him was a pretty woman with equally dark, good looks. She had a sweet smile. On the other side of the table was a roughly handsome man with an edge of the streets. Holding his right hand was a breathtaking, blonde bombshell. She looked like one of those models on TV.

Sky approached them and said, �Welcome to The Red Roof. My name is Sky, and I�ll be serving you tonight. Here are your menus. I�ll give you some time to look, and I�ll be back in a few.�

Sky handed them the menus and went to get them some glasses of water. She got the water and returned to the table.

After she had set their glasses on the table, she asked, �May I get you anything to drink?�

The dark woman asked for an iced tea, the blonde asked for an extra sweet lemonade, and the two men asked for cherry-coke. When she returned with their drinks they were ready to order. As she was leaving with their orders, the rough-looking man asked if she could bring them a bottle of Tabasco sauce with their meals. For a moment, Sky stared in wonder, and then she nodded her head in reply. It must only be a fluke? Right?

After eating their dinners, Sky�s table wanted dessert. They asked her what was best.

Sky replied, �Well, the devil-dog cake is excellent for chocolate lovers, then there�s the turtle cake all�a mode, hot apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and there�s always yummy bread pudding.�

The dark man looked up at her and said, �You�re making my mouth water just describing all of those!� They chose their desserts and resumed talking.

Sky brought them their desserts and started to turn away, but the dark man again spoke, �Seeing as we�re about the last table, do you think your boss would mind if we ask you some questions about the town. See we�re on vacation, and seeing as you�re a local, I wondered if you could help us out?�

Sky, knowing that the manager was already gone and that it was just Lennie and her, grabbed a chair and sat down next to them.

�Ask away,� She stated.

They asked her where they should visit and what to watch out for, and she told them.

The dark woman soon held out her hand to Sky and said, �This hunk I�m with is Max, and my name is Liz. I�m glad we�ve made a friend here.�

Sky smiled back, �You know I�m really glad too. I don�t know when I�ve enjoyed work on a Friday night as much as I have tonight! And you know what else is kinda neat? One of my middle names is Elizabeth. Mom had this really great best friend named Liz, so she wanted to remember her by giving me her name.�

�Wow,� Liz replied, �That is neat! And you have two middle names?� �Yeah,� Sky answered, �The other is Michaela, Sky Michaela-Elizabeth. Michaela is for my father. I�ve never met him. His name is Michael.�

At that, the rough-looking man looked up, and everyone else did as well.

Sky didn�t notice, and she went on, �Something else has been bothering me all night, you asked me for a bottle of Tabasco, and I saw that you used some on your desserts. I�m the only person who I�ve ever known to do that.�

Sky looked towards the rough-looking man. The blonde woman looked up at Sky and noted the similarities between Sky and another girl, a girl who had been gone for years now, a girl who had given her everything.

Then the blonde woman asked, �What�s your full name Sky?�

Sky looked at the woman a little oddly, but replied, �Sky Michaela-Elizabeth DeLuca......why?�

�Because,� The blonde woman stated, �My name is Isabel, and this is my husband, Mr. Guerin, Mr. Michael Guerin.�

Part 2

Sky looked up at Michael and swallowed down a big gulp.

"Did that woman just say that this man�s name is Michael?" Sky thought. A deep fear washed over her entire body and settled in the pit of her belly. Her eyes shone with it for a brief second. The other woman�s name was Liz.

"No," Sky thought, "It can�t possibly be. I�m not that lucky." But somewhere just under her surface, that fear remained. Sky looked back up at the blonde woman, "It�s nice to meet you Isabel, and Mr., Mr. Guerin, but I, uh, don�t know what that�s supposed to mean to me."

"Oh......," Isabel replied, "I just thought..."

Sky then glanced to Michael. Michael had been starring directly at Sky since she had said that name, that sacred name. He looked over her carefully. She had Maria�s lips, her full, glossy lips. Her entire face reminded him of Maria, especially the way her emotions ran over her smooth skin. But her eyes, they were unmistakably his. Almost an exact replica.

"Why hadn�t he seen it coming?" He thought.

He couldn�t look any longer; he turned his eyes away.

Liz broke the spell and spoke, "I don�t think Isabel meant anything by that, Sky. She just meant that it�s important because you�ve been more than good to us."

Sky nodded in recognition, "Yeah... So, I guess you guys are going to be leaving?"

"Yeah, it�s getting late, and I�m sure you�ve got plans or something," Max said.

Sky nodded. They said their good-byes and left. Sky stood starring out the glass of the door as they called a cab and drove out of her sight.

"So," Lennie said, coming out of the shadows of the kitchen door where she had been standing, "What was that all about Sky? It sounded like it got a little tense for a moment."

Sky looked up, "Oh, it, it was nothing much."

"It didn�t sound like nothing much to me. Did you hear what that woman said, and how she said it? That man�s name is Michael, and that other woman�s name is Liz. When that woman asked you your name, she had this look on her face like she knew exactly what you were going to say. Sky, you don�t think that it�s possible that he�s...?" Lennie cut off.

"No possible way!" Sky yelped, "There is no way he can be, I mean, that�s impossible, right?"

Meanwhile, back in the cab.....

"How could she! How could she keep something like this from me! I mean, that kid, she�s my daughter! I have a daughter. What am I gonna do? I have to find Maria. Maria! I�m gonna strangle that blonde, big-mouthed, EARTH GIRL!" Michael continued to shout in rage.

"Michael," Max stated, "Pull yourself together! We�re all here; we�ll figure this out."

Michael boomed, "What�s to figure out, I have a daughter whom I know nothing about. That girl is my flesh and blood! What if? I mean, do you think she�s like us?"

"Liz and my kids haven�t shown any signs, nor has Jace," Max replied, "I don�t think it�s likely, but it is possible. Let�s get to the hotel, then we�ll sort this out."

"Michael, it is going to be okay, you�ll see, this is Maria we�re talking about," Liz said as she laid a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Michael," Isabel crooned, "Come on love," as she brushed a lock of his wild hair from his face. With that, they remained quiet the rest of the ride.

Over at The Red Roof, Sky and Lennie had finished closing and were preparing to leave.

"I�m gonna call Mom and tell her I�m staying with you tonight, Okay?" Sky said to Lennie.

"Yeah," Lennie answered, "I�ll meet you at the front door."

Sky picked up the phone and dialed home.

Maria picked up on the third ring. "Hi, this is Maria speaking."

"Hey Mom," Sky answered.

"Oh, hey sweetie, is everything okay; you sound a little shaky?"

"Yeah Mom, I�m fine. I just wanted to let�cha know that I�m gonna stay over at Lennie�s tonight. Her dad�s out of town again and she doesn�t want to be alone. I�ll see you tomorrow after work, and I�m bringing Lennie home. Okay?" Sky said to her mother.

"Always, baby. You take good care of Lennie for me. I�ll see you tomorrow then. Oh, and don�t stay up to late, and Sky, don�t do anything I wouldn�t do." Maria stated with a little chuckle.

"MOM!" Sky choked out before hanging up the phone. Then Sky remembered, and she headed for the door. Lennie and She had a lot to do.

Maria sighed as she hung up the phone. She had such a great daughter, and she loved her so much. Michael had given her the greatest gift of all. And because of that, she loved him even more. How could she not love the person whom had given her such a gift---her heart. It was a wonder to have your heart go walking around outside of your body, but that�s exactly what Sky was. Only, there was a piece of that heart that was missing. Sky was a piece of Michael, and so he was also a piece of her heart. Naturally, in true Michael fashion, he was the missing piece. Oh, how she missed him.

After getting to the hotel and into their rooms, Max, Michael, Isabel, and Liz, got settled and resumed their previous conversation. Liz asked, "So what are we going to do?"

"Well," Max stated, "We�ll have to find Maria. It shouldn�t be to hard. We�ll go back to the restaurant first thing tomorrow morning and see if we can pry some information from some of the other waitresses."

Liz nodded in agreement, as well as Isabel. Isabel knew, only too well, what this would mean to Michael. Had she not laid in bed next to him during many nights when he had unconsciously let her know that nothing would ever be finished between Maria and he?

Sky pulled up to Lennie�s apartment building. They gathered their stuff and headed on up to the apartment. Inside, they dropped their things to the ground. They found some leftover, cold pizza and a few cans of soda. Then the search began.

"So," Lennie said, "What do you want to do about it?"

"Well," Sky replied, "First, we�ve got to find where they are staying. Then we�ll follow them. We don�t start our shift till four tomorrow, so if we catch them in the morning, then we�ll have most of the day to see what�s up. I mean, they�re tourists; they�re bound to be up at the crack of dawn."

"Okay, sounds like a plan to me," Lennie answered.

"So," Sky said," Are you going to work your magic?"

Lennie chuckled as she logged on to her high-dollar, state of the art computer. The hacker had emerged. Within the hour they knew everything they needed to know. Mr. Guerin and his companions were staying at a local hotel called The Haven. They got their gear ready, and took in a few hours of rest. There was a long day ahead of them.

That night, Michael tried to sleep, but it was no use. He got out of bed, and checked to see if Izz was still asleep. Her breathing remained deep, so he stepped out onto the balcony and shut the sliding glass door. He looked up towards the stars, and he began to remember. Maria, so much was said in that one word. All of his hopes and dreams fell there. She was everything. To get lost in the world that was Maria, that was more than everything. Her soft skin was like the petal of a rose, not red, but cream. Her sent was wild and innocent at the same time, but then, he�d always loved sweet and spicy mixed together so that each overlapped the other confusing the senses. Her lips, they tasted like strawberries; the sweet, overpowering honey of summer. Her eyes were fire. Their intensity burned him; their truth burned him. Her eyes were the windows to his own soul. Only through Maria was there Michael. Maria........

Maria awoke with a start. Was it just her imagination, or had she just heard her name? And that voice? That was a voice that had lived in her dreams for so many years. Michael...... Why after all this time had she finally heard him call for her? What did it mean? Had he realized his truth? Maria could feel it in her very being, something very big was whirling in the air. A storm was brewing, and only God knew who was going to survive. Maria knew that you couldn�t stop fate, she had learned the hard and vicious way, but who had ever said you couldn�t make it your own? She eased back down gathering her covers around her face and curled up. A smile began to grow on the beautiful plane of her face as she again sunk into her dreams, where reality was illusion.

At six a.m. the next morning, Lennie and Sky were seated right outside of The Haven. They were ready for action.

"Hey Lennie," Sky said as she pulled out a bag of red hots, "Want some? They�re so great, especially in the morning!"

"No thanks," Lennie replied, "I don�t know how you do it DeLuca, all that junk food? Why don�t you try fruit for breakfast, a banana or a grapefruit?"

"Are you kidding Lennie? You�ve known me practically my whole life; I�d die if I ever ate anything without artificial flavoring."

Lennie smirked at her best friend, she loved Sky too much. They were keeping watch on the front doors of the hotel, but it was getting boring. "Want some Music?" Lennie asked.

Sky looked up and answered, "Sure." "Okay, let�s see what we got here,"

Lennie muttered as she searched through her music chip collection, CD�s had gone out like ten years ago, though a lot of people still played them. "Ah-ha," Lennie stated in victory, "I�ve got it. How about a little Blue Rebellion Magic?"

"Yeah," Sky said with cheer, "I totally love that new song of theirs; what is it?"

Lennie answered, "I think your searching for Silver Moon Girl."

"Yeah, that�s it!" Sky piped up.

Lennie put the chip into the player, but all she got was a horrible screeching noise. "Man, it must be busted, or something! I was really wanting to hear them!" Lennie said in dismay.

"No Fear! The Alien is Near!" Sky said trying to cheer Lennie. "Here," Sky said, "Let me see it."

Sky took the chip and began to concentrate. A warm glow slowly spread from her fingertips to the chip. After about a minute, Sky opened her eyes and smiled, "There ya go Lennie, all better."

Lennie took the chip and put it into the player. Sure enough, it played even better than it had originally. Lennie was happy to be hearing her favorite rock band, but no matter how long she had been friends with Sky, the alien thing did tend to freak her out, if just a little.

Michael, Max, Liz, and Isabel had gotten up and ready for the day.

"Hey," Max called to Michael from the lobby, where he and Liz were waiting.

"Morning Michael, morning Izz," Liz greeted them.

"Good morning," both Michael and Isabel replied.

"So," Max asked, "Everyone ready?" There was a chorus of nodding heads.

Sky looked up in time to see them coming out of the hotel. "There they are Lennie!" She stated.

Lennie looked up and saw where Sky was pointing to.

"Okay," Lennie said as she started up the engine, "They�re calling a cab. You ready for this Sky?" With that said she turned in Sky�s direction.

"As ready as I�ll ever be." Sky answered.

Lennie turned after the cab that had just picked up their prey.

About forty minutes later, they all pulled into the parking lot of The Red Roof.

"So," Sky said, "It was more than just me being extra great with them. I wonder what they�re in there digging up?"

"I guess we�ll just have to wait till they come out," Lennie replied as she brushed her long, straight, dark hair onto her shoulders.

They had decided that Max would go in alone to keep the alarm down. Max headed for the restaurant doors, while the others kept the cab. He reached the doors and went in. Once in, he located a waitress.

"Ma'am, can I speak with you a moment?" He asked politely.

The waitress�s nametag read "Sam."

"Sam?" Max asked. "Yes?"

Sam replied with a smile.

Max smiled back using his best sexy, I can melt you into a pile of mush smile. As desired, Sam melted.

"Well," Max began, "You see I�m a teacher at the local high school here and one of my students works here. She asked me if she could borrow my telescope tonight for her science report on stars and the different constellations. The problem is that I left her address in my office at work. I was hoping that she�d be here."

"Who are you looking for Mr....?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Mr. Valenti, but you may call me Kyle," Max said, "And I�m looking for Sky DeLuca."

"Well, Kyle, I think you�re in luck. I happen to know where Sky lives...." Sam responded.

Lennie spotted Max emerging from the front door of The Red Roof and said, "There he is. That�s the one who went in."

"Follow him!" Sky demanded. The cab started out, and they followed.

"He must have found something out because he wasn�t in there very long," Lennie said.

"I don�t know, but I do wonder where we could possibly be going?" Sky replied.

In the cab, Michael asked Max, "So you got it, did ya. How?"

Liz and Isabel also looked at Max in wonder.

"Let�s just say that I dazzled "Sam" with my charming personality and good looks, and boy, Valenti is gonna get a Heck of a laugh outta this one!" Max answered them with a roar of laughter, and they soon joined him.

It wasn�t long before they pulled up to their destination.

Lennie and Sky followed the cab down the streets. Not too long after they had begun, the streets got familiar.

"Sky," Lennie said with a worried look on her face, her bright, emerald eyes shining, "Are you thinking what I�m thinking?"

"I think I�m starting to," Sky replied.

Sky had barely gotten the sentence out, when they pulled up to a house, a warm brightly colored little house. As it could only be, for it was the house of Maria, Maria DeLuca to be exact.

Part 3

Maria was just finishing the last lyric to her new song, To the Moon to My Heart. She set aside her work and rose from her seat at her piano. All of a sudden, she felt it again. Maria looked all around.

"Oh no, it�s brewing, the storm," She thought.

She felt something else though; it was a very familiar feeling. It had been a long time, but never, never could she mistake that feeling.

"Michael?" She voiced aloud.

Michael had been anxious to get out of the cab. He was in a stir. Max, Liz, and Isabel proceeded to get out as well. They paid the cab and told them they�d pay him double his rate if he�d wait for them, so he agreed. They walked up to the house, and with a great moment of hesitation, Max knocked on the wooden, red door.

"Oh, no," Maria softly voiced again.

The door, someone was knocking. This was the moment, the moment she had been waiting for, for the past almost sixteen years. She laid an unsteady hand to the base of her throat, where her pulse beat like thunder. She reached forward, ever so slowly. She turned the knob........ The door crept open....... Her past, it all came rushing forward like lightening. On her front doorstep stood Max, Liz, Isabel, and ... ......Michael.

Sky and Lennie had been watching with rapt attention.

"Lennie," Sky said, "She opened the door."

Lennie turned her attention first to Sky and then back to the scene before them. This was the moment of truth. This is where her best friend�s future lay. She prayed for God to watch over them.

"Please God, oh please," Lennie chanted over and over.

Michael could only stare, and Isabel, she looked on with foreboding uneasiness. She too, could feel the storm. She, however, had the advantage of knowing it�s direction. Or maybe for her, it was the disadvantage. She knew.

In a blinding flash, the moment was gone.

Liz spoke up, "Maria, oh, you don�t know how good it is to see you! I�ve missed you so. We all have."

Maria stuttered, "How, how did you find me?"

"Shear Luck!" Max stated with a smile.

"Yes," Isabel confirmed, while Michael cast a downwards glance.

"Well, come in, come in," Maria ushered.

They all filed in and settled in Maria�s colorful, cozy living room. Liz and Isabel took the love seat and Maria sat in her usual chair, while Max settled by Michael on the sofa.

"So," Maria began, "What brought you all here?"

Liz answered, "We�re on vacation actually. We wanted to get away for a while. You know the routine."

"Yeah," Maria replied, "I think I remember it. Dashing off here and there, taking a breath every ten million miles, or so."

Liz smiled at the �Maria-ish� spark.

"It wasn�t all like that," Michael spoke up with the slightest hint of malice in his voice.

First, Maria�s eyes flashed question, then recognition, and finally they flashed fire, hot, flaming fire. "It wasn�t was it?" She spit out, "Tell me then what was it like? Was it all fun and games? Did you enjoy toying with people? Saying I love you too much, and then saying I can�t love you enough?"

Michael�s eyes lit at this, and he jumped to his feet. They were playing fire to fire.

"So," Michael responded, "It speaks."

"Of course, I do, you selfish, arrogant......" Maria caught herself and expelled a long, deep breath. "How dare you come here anyway!" She continued, "How dare you put another foot forward into my life!"

"How dare I!" Michael bellowed, "How Dare I? How about, how dare you! How dare you keep the fact that I have a daughter away from me! How could you Maria? You�ve always known, more than anyone, what family means to me. You know where my loyalties lay."

"It wasn�t your loyalty that I was looking for Michael." Maria stated.

Sky and Lennie had gotten out of the car the moment the front door had shut. They wanted to hear what was going on. They stood just outside the door. To their benefit, the door hadn�t closed all the way; it was cracked just enough for them to get a straight view to the center of the living room. They could hear the angry voices from within.

Sky looked up to Lennie and said, "Did you just hear that, Lennie. She didn�t deny it."

"It�s gonna be okay, Sky; you�ll see." Lennie answered as she cupped Sky�s cheek in her palm.

"But would it really?" Lennie thought as she glanced back towards the room.

"How did you....., I mean, how do you know?" Maria stated as she realized her slip.

"Easy," Michael answered, "We met a girl at The Red Roof whose mother�s best friend�s name was Liz. It all fell out from there."

Maria clutched her face in her hands. She had known it. It was whirling in the air.

"I didn�t keep it from you to hurt you, Michael. I..., it was just that, you said you couldn�t love me Michael. What could you expect me to have done? My heart had been torn away, only to suddenly be given back to me. I was torn, but with the knowledge of what you had given me, I was put back together. I couldn�t afford to lose my heart again."

Michael was captivated by the smoothness of his name on her tongue. Breaking his trance, he said, "I didn�t know....."

Sky could not believe her ears. This man, Michael Guerin, was indeed her father. He was the man she had been waiting on her whole life, but this wasn�t how it was supposed to happen. He was supposed to come sweeping in from the stars like a bright light, rescuing her from emptiness and saving her mother from an eternity away from that one last piece of her heart, himself. Lennie grasped Sky�s cold hands. With her face a chilling, arctic blue, Sky gasped, letting free her horror.

All heads turned toward the strangled sound. The door slowly swung open and revealed Lennie and Sky.

"Oh no," Maria voiced, "Sky, baby, it�s okay. Please don�t be afraid."

Sky glanced towards Michael and their gazes locked.

"I have his eyes," Sky thought.

Michael was amazed by the sudden warmth that enveloped him as he stood staring at his daughter. Sky looked sideways at Lennie for support. Lennie nodded, and with that Sky took a step forward, and another, and another until she had brought herself into the living room. Lennie remained by her side.

"So," Sky spoke up, "You�re him, Michael, my father?"

"Yeah," Michael replied, "I guess I am."

There was a silence before Michael again spoke, "Do you know who I am, I mean really?"

"Yeah," Sky replied, "I know, but I�ve never really grasped the whole; I�ve been waiting for you."

Michael stole a warning glance at Lennie, and Sky picked up.

"Lennie," Sky said motioning in Lennie�s direction, "knows all my secrets." At this, Lennie felt a burning spark of unconditional love and trust.

Michael nodded his head in understanding. His daughter was worth trusting a stranger, besides the girl had won his daughter, so he knew that she must be something special. Michael felt a pull at his heart.

"Had I known Sky..." He stumbled with tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes like liquid hot crystals.

"No," Sky began, starting to shake herself, "But you didn�t know."

"I�m sorry, so sorry baby. If I had known I would have held you tight. I would have rocked you to sleep at night. If only... I had known, I would have been there to kiss away the tears that melted down your sweet, ivory face. I would have caressed your beautiful, molten hair and made sure that there would never have been any monsters in your closet," Michael faded off.

Sky looked up into her father�s face, for the first time truly seeing and learning what it was like to know a father�s love. This was what she needed. With her face wet with glistening tears, Sky smiled. She turned to Lennie letting her know that everything was going to be okay and freed her hands. Michael saw the want, no, the need. He felt it to, like a band around his heart, squeezing. He opened his arms. Sky looked up once again, and she knew that she was on the verge of finding home. She ran to him.

Michael wrapped Sky within the house of his strong, capable arms. It was like finding home. It was so much more. Sky wept, and Michael wept. Their tears mingled and a warm, bluish glow spread from them, expanding throughout the room.

Max, Liz, Isabel, and Maria, who had all remained quiet throughout this other-worldly experience, and even Lennie, felt a liquid tranquilness run through their bodies as the light encompassed them. It was like being wrapped inside a rainbow. There was so much emotion swirling about. In uncertain clarity, it was like standing in the very center of a storm, where reality could no longer be separated from oneness.

Then as sudden as it had appeared, the light faded. Within those few, precious moments, Sky had shared all of her memories with her father, and Michael had, in turn, shared himself with his daughter. Sky collapsed spent with exhaustion, but this time, for the first time in her life, her Daddy was there to catch her. With this new knowledge, Sky drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

"Maria," Michael said catching her eyes, "What you have given me ......"

Maria, no longer harboring any resentment, nodded. She smoothed her hands through Michael�s hair in a soothing motion. Michael smiled, at peace for the first time in his entire life.

"I know," Maria stated.

Max watched his best friend. He had never seen Michael like this. It was at this exact moment that he realized that his sister�s life was about to come crashing down all around her. With this, Max figured that they wouldn�t be needing the cab, so he went to go pay the driver off. Liz watched her best friends as well, this was right. This was what should have been all those years ago. Then she looked at Isabel, and comprehension set in. For one, his world had been found; for the other, her world had been lost. Lennie watched as well, Sky had found what she had been needing.

"Will Sky still need me?" Lennie thought. Sky and Maria, they had always been the one constant in her life.

When Sky tossed slightly, Michael asked Maria, "Where�s her room?"

"I�ll show you," Maria answered as she motioned upstairs.

Michael easily lifted Sky into his arms and followed after Maria.

Isabel watched Michael carry his precious charge up the stairs and away from her life. She had always known. Why had she fooled herself? She had wanted to believe that he could love her like no-one had. It seemed that no-one ever would. What about Jace? No, Michael would never turn his back on him. She need not worry there. But her life? Where was she? Isabel took one last look at Michael�s retreating back. She had lost him. But hadn�t she always known? She had never had him. Had not she seen it every time he had looked her in the eyes. His eyes had reflected those of someone else. Only through Maria was there Michael.

--The End....