Conversation

Ah and you whisper
Why do I do this?
I can't go through this
Why do I do this, why?

Sometimes I breathe
Sometimes I see
Then I dream a dream that won't come true
And I struggle with life
When I'm lonely...
--Hootie & The Blowfish, "When I'm Lonely"
* * * * *

"Well?" Maria wondered, after minutes of silence. "What kind of situation?"

Michael felt anger swell up inside him. Here she'd been, all summer, having a great time in Atlanta, when he was searching for clues that would lead him to the boy. She was his partner in crime, Batgirl to his Batman, and she'd left when he needed her most.

"Maria, I..." he began, words failing him. "It was right after you left, and the eight of us were reduced to four... Max and Liz gone to Europe, you took off to Atlanta, and we all know Alex is never coming back," Michael sighed, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes.

"Michael, I HAD to go. I had no choice. It was time..." she trailed off.

"Time for what?" he questioned her, always curious for answers.

Maria took a deep breath and looked at him, her eyes shiny pools of fear. "Time to have the baby, Michael. I couldn't have it here in Roswell, and there was other business--"

"Baby." It was more of a statement about the child than a question.

"Yes, the baby. Our baby."

"Maria, you weren't even pregnant when you left here! You hadn't gained any weight, you weren't -- you weren't eating Tabasco covered cookies or anything! You couldn't have had a baby!" Michael protested, stunned at her revelation.

"Loose dresses can hide things, Michael. I wasn't showing very much, anyway, even until the day I gave birth to her," Maria explained tearfully. "She came early."

"I cannot fucking believe this, Maria. I can't believe it. How could you not tell me? How could I not notice? Why didn't you TELL ME!" he screamed at her, unleashing the fury he'd held in since the May morning he'd discovered her disappearance.

"I couldn't, Michael, I wasn't allowed to," she informed him, turning around and facing the wall. Maria could no longer bear to look at him, the pain and anger coming in waves like an explosion in the room.

"Why? Why not, Maria? Why couldn't you tell me? Who said, Maria? WHO TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ME?"

"James," she whispered. "James said it could only hurt, not help things."

"Who the fuck is James? Some boyfriend of yours out in Atlanta? You couldn't even WAIT more than a few weeks, could you? Dear God, how could I have been so stupid? So motherfucking BLIND to you?" Michael raved on.

Finally, Maria swept around to look again, ready to reveal the entire truth.

"James isn't my boyfriend, Michael. James is our son."




* * * * *
Well, I notified all the necessary people
They made me make a scene
'Cause they understand my dreams
And they criticize my life
--Hootie & The Blowfish, "Closet Full Of Fear"
* * * * *

The air became still as Michael began to laugh - a strange, uneasy laugh to Maria's ears.

"Son?" he crowed. "First a daughter that no one knew you were expecting, and then a son. Where'd he come from, the Granilith?"

Maria looked up in surprise; shock spread over her features rapidly. "Michael, how did you know? Oh my God, that solves so many--"

"Maria, you've got to be crazy! Really, what did you do out in Atlanta?" Michael demanded. "Some kind of weird drug? Attend UFO conventions? You're not making any sense! You know what, this makes as much sense as the boy--"

"The boy? What boy?" Maria interrupted. Suddenly, a realization swept over her, one that changed everything. "He came to you, too, didn't he?"

"How do you know about the boy?"

"James," she simply uttered. "It has to be James! He DID come through the Granilith, Michael. You have to believe me! He needs you to come to Atlanta, Michael--"

"Yes, sure, of course he needs me to come to Atlanta," Michael said sarcastically. "Some boy comes to me in the desert and leaves another set of orbs. Says I can't use them without you, and to not worry about you until summer was over. He was right, they DON'T work without you. And now you say you spent the summer with him in Atlanta, and that he's our long-lost son sent here through the biggest mystery of my life.

"So why SHOULD I come to Atlanta with you, Maria? This guy could be an enemy, using YOU to lure the rest of us in. Remember Nicholas?" Michael almost yelled, his face slowly turning red. "He came in a pint-sized package too. So give me one good reason to come to Atlanta with you, Maria. Give me one good reason to trust you anymore."

Maria took a deep breath in, and reached into her pocket. Pulling out the small piece of plastic James had given her, she pressed it to Michael's chest and pushed the button.

"This is for your own good," she muttered as he collapsed on the floor. "That's why you should trust me."




* * * * *
I said I'm not afraid of change
I'm not afraid to lose
They say it's all about the sacrifice
And the weapons you choose
--Tonic, "Casual Affair"
* * * * *

It had been a long trip across the country. Michael had sat in the front seat, wordless, for the entire journey to Atlanta. Even after Maria had taken the tape off his mouth, he sat and stared endlessly at the highway. James had warned her that the effects of the blast she had released on Michael would only last about a day. True to form, he woke up the next evening. But it was unusual for Michael to behave this way -- silent, calm, and unprotesting.

"Michael?" she said his name quietly. "Would you like to stop and get some food?" They were about a hundred miles from Atlanta, and the boy hadn't eaten anything since they left Roswell. vNo response.

She wondered briefly if this behavior was part of the side effects of the essence tool. Maria made a mental note to find out.

After stopping for a quick meal, given to them lukewarm through the drivethrough, Maria's thoughts turned to the past summer.

She hadn't really known why she was going to Atlanta. Maria had made the flight reservations months in advance, but she didn't know why. It was if -- as if something was calling her to Atlanta. Or rather, forcing her to go.

Of course, she realized now that something WAS forcing her to go. James.

But, after the chip was implanted, she didn't fight it any longer. How could she? Being herself was hard enough. But being two Marias was even harder.

* * * * *

Maria walked Michael up the flight of stairs. "See, no one's going to hurt you, Michael," she assured him in a soothing tone. *Not physically, anyway,* she said to herself. "I just needed you to come here, and this seemed like the only way."

Still, no response. He simply walked beside her, not even reaching out for the guardrail to help him up the stairs.

James met them at the front door, in his original form. He only nodded in satisfaction before pulling the two in and slamming the door behind them.

"Do you have the essence compactor?" James demanded immediately. Maria turned it over to him wordlessly, and James slipped it into the box with the other three.

"Four down, and four to go," he cackled gleefully. "Of course, you'll come last. You're too valuable to let go -- just yet."

THE END

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