Michael sat in the Deluca house, waiting impatiently. Come on, Maria…we’re going to be late…again! He looked around the kitchen, trying to focus his thoughts on something that might take his mind off the time. The next thing he found himself looking at was a clock. Great, now my eyes are against me.

Maria sprinted through the kitchen as if she was a member of the track team. "Sorry, I’m late. Can’t find my keys." She looked everywhere, drawers, the table, the sink… She shot a look over at Michael, who was staring at her questioningly. "Hey, it was worth a shot."

"Did you try the car?" Michael replied. In Michael’s experience, whenever Maria lost something, it ended up some place stupid. The last time she lost her keys they were in the ignition of the car. The time before that, the refrigerator. He didn’t ask about that one.

"Yes, I tried the car. Give me some credit, Michael." Michael was about to open his mouth. “Okay, the refrigerator incident aside, I have been usually good about keeping track of my stuff. Now, do you want to sit there, or help me find my keys?”

Michael’s lips got the better of him and formed a grin. "Actually, I’d rather sit here."

Before an argument could erupt, Amy entered the room, saw Maria and Michael. "Hello, Michael." She looked at her daughter. "Maria." She then exited.

"Okay, you better turn up the heat because that was cold," Michael observed. "Have you talked to your mom about the whole thing…you know, with your grandma?"

"Ah ha! Here are my keys!" Maria said. "Figures, I’d leave them in plain sight, on the counter."

Michael had wondered if Maria had heard his question. He was about to ask it again when she stared at him, expectantly. "So, you want a ride to school, or what?"

From her tone of voice, Michael concluded that she had heard him and didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe I’ll bring it up later… in about ten years. "Ride sounds good." As they walked out, he muttered, "finally."

"Heard that," Maria said, heading to her car.

"Maria! Maria! Wait!" That was her mom shouting. Great. All she wanted to do was get to school. She didn’t want to deal with family relations right now.

Amy caught up to them. "You got this in the mail," she explained, handing her an envelope.

Maria took the envelope and opened it immediately. She quickly scanned the text. Her eyes then widened and jaw dropped immediately.

"What is it?" asked Amy, hoping she could comfort her daughter in some way.

Maria looked up from the letter. "It’s from grandma’s lawyer." She looked at Michael, then her mother. "I’m mentioned in the will."

~

Maria told Liz about the letter from her grandmother's lawyer and they talked about it for several minutes in class.

"So, it only said you where mentioned in the will?" Liz inquired.

"Yeah, but I will be happy with whatever I get, I mean it's the thought that counts," Maria answered honestly.

"True," Liz replied.

Both Liz and Maria turned their attention toward the teacher as he turned to say something to the class. Once he turned to the blackboard again, they turned back to each other again.

"So, what does your mom think about the letter?" Liz questioned.

"I don't know.” Maria shrugged, “She hasn't said anything about it. I'm not sure she likes it, but it's my grandmother's last will and testament and I won't insult her memory by not going or not accepting whatever she wanted me to have."

Liz nodded, "did the letter give any hint to what the will said about you?"

"No." Maria paused and sighed, "I would've loved to hear her tell stories about her youth and maybe about my granddad too, or maybe how my father was when he was young."

"I understand. I was lucky to have my grandmother around.” Liz replied softly. "If you want to, I go with you to the reading of the will. I mean, so you don't have to sit there alone," Liz offered while taking notes of the lecture.

"You won't need to," Maria said shaking her head.

"Why not?" Liz asked slightly confused.

"Michael already promised he would take me there," Maria replied with a smile.

"Yeah, that's good." Liz whispered looking hurt.

"Yeah, it is." Maria said and looked dreamily out the window.

"When I was visiting Max last night, something strange happened," Liz whispered after a short pause.

"What? You found out you where more then friends?" Maria asked with a smirk.

"No, nothing like that," Liz blushed.

"Are you sure? Because I think you are turning into a tomato." Maria said as her smile grew.

"Yeah, could we get back to what I was going to say?" Liz asked.

"Sure, pinky," Maria replied.

"Well, when I walked past Isabel's room there was a lot of clothes on her bed," Liz explained.

"What so strange about that? Isabel likes clothes."

"Well, the clothes were all red."

"Really? It doesn't seem that strange to me, maybe she chose to go with a new color this season." Maria replied trying to explain Isabel's actions.

"Yeah. Maybe,” Liz paused thinking for a second. “But, there was a picture of Alex on top of the clothes," Liz pointed out.

"Hmm..." Maria moaned as she tried to think of what was going on with her friend.

"And that wasn't the only odd thing that happened,” Liz explained. “When I got there, this girl was leaving when I was going it. She is a college friend of Isabel."

"What’s so strange about that?" Maria inquired slightly confused.

"Well, there was just something familiar about her," Liz replied.

"I don't know, maybe it was just an case of 'deja vu'," Maria whispered.

"Miss Parker and Miss Deluca," The teacher called out and their heads snapped to attention. "Would you two please be quiet, so that the rest of the class will learn something."

"Sorry," they said simultaneously.

~

Finally, lunch, Isabel told herself as she sat down on a bench. She put down her bag and rummaged inside for her notes. She opened it and munched on her sandwich while reviewing for her next class.

"Isabel!" she heard someone say, and looked up to see Serena.

"Oh, hey," she acknowledged her. "Have you eaten lunch?" she asked.

"Not yet," Serena said, sitting down beside her and placing her bag on the table. "I'm looking for Christian. I need something from him-"

She shrugged. "I saw him awhile ago, after class. He asked if I wanted to join the study group tonight."

"What-?" Isabel asked when Serena chuckled.

"Nothing. So, do you know where he went?"

"He said something about going to the library.. What?" she asked again when Serena grinned.

"Isabel, have you even looked at that guy? Don't tell me you haven't noticed him," she teased.

"He's impossible to miss." Isabel said, rolling her eyes. They both laughed.

"That, he is," Serena agreed.

"Has he asked you out yet?

"Huh? It's not like that.”

"Right, girl. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" Serena said incredulously. "Half the guys in class are asking about you and you haven't noticed?"

Isabel looked surprised, and then went silent. "I.. I don't think of him that way. Actually, I don't think I want to date anyone anytime soon. I mean, Christian is a nice guy, you know, but,"

"Ah. The old crash and burn," Serena said gently. When Isabel remained silent, she changed topics. "I've seen your brother when I went to Roswell the other day."

"Max the saint," Isabel said wryly. "Where'd you see him? Oh, let me guess-the Crashdown, right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Simple. Liz works there."

"Yes. Liz. His ex, right?"

"Not if he can help it.”

"By the looks of it, he seems like he's bent on getting her back."

"Oh, the two of them will eventually get back together."

"Good for them."

"Yeah, good for them," she said dryly, and rolled her eyes.

"So, about you.. Any plans on getting back in the game?"

"What game?"

"The dating game."

"Nope," Isabel said, shrugging her shoulders. "The last time I dated.. No, I don't think I want to be involved with anyone anytime soon,"

"It's okay, I understand. Max told me"

She looked at Serena sharply. "I know you lost someone last year," the other woman started and her eyes widened when Isabel started putting her books and notebooks back into her bag.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's alright, really. I just.. I forgot to do something. Listen, I have to go-"

"Isabel, I'm really sorry-"

"Look, don't worry about it, okay? I'll see you later."

She had to leave. She thought she had it all under control. She packed up her bag and walked to the parking lot quickly, her breath hitching in her throat. She waved her hand over the keyhole, not bothering to rummage in her bag to grab her keys. She hurriedly got into the driver's seat and wept.

~

The sun was shining as Max and Michael entered West Roswell High’s quad.

It was lunchtime, or as Michael liked to call it, "figuring out what the cafeteria is trying to poison us with today" time. They sat down at an empty picnic table and began dissecting their lunches.

Michael picked up something that resembled broccoli – it could also easily be parsley – and looked at it from all sorts of angles. "What do you think this is? I’m thinking broccoli. Or parsley. Or some type of hybrid."

"I’ve been thinking," was Max’s reply.

"Of parsley?" Michael asked before he realized that Max hadn’t been paying attention to his rant.

"No, yesterday, at work, I used some of Brody’s resources to see if I could find any more ways to contact my son." Michael saw Max lower his head a little. Michael inferred that meant Max’s search was unsuccessful. But just to make sure-

"And?" Michael inquired.

"Nothing. Every time I think I’ve found something, the trail just ends. I don’t think I’m going to be able to find another way home." That was hard for him to admit. All summer long he’d search with hope in his heart that someday he might be able to find a way to rescue his son.

"No offense, Maxwell, but what do you expect? The kid’s on another planet." Michael paused, saw Max nod his head and heard him sigh. “Before we knew about the Granolith, we were looking for a way home for years and never came up with anything. It’d be pretty much impossible to find something in a matter of months."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of laughter nearby. Max looked over his shoulder and saw Maria and Liz chatting with a couple of classmates, acting as if everything was normal in the world. And why shouldn’t they act that way? They’re young. Human. They shouldn’t have to deal with the things Michael, Isabel and I deal with. But they do. They stick with us even when it seems like things may take a turn for the worse.

Michael saw Max stare at Maria and Liz. A few months ago, leaving home was the last thing on his friend's mind, yet here he was, talking about it every day.

"Besides, Maxwell," he said, breaking the silence and taking another look at Liz, "if you really did find a way home, would you ever want to leave?"

Max continued to stare at Liz, confirming Michael’s answer

~

Isabel's eyes misted over as she continued to drive home. Her heart ached and she closed her eyes briefly blinking back tears.

She opened her eyes and slammed on the breaks. Her tires screeched and the car jerked to a stop crashing into another car. Her sobs increased as she fully realized she hit the car in front of her.

Kyle braced himself as he felt his car leap forward on it's own accord. Kyle cursed under his breath as he got out of the car to survey the damages.

Isabel's heart stopped as she saw Kyle climbing out of the car. "Kyle?" she whispered as her tears started to fall harder.

"Iz?" Kyle moaned as he noticed her tears and trembling body. She's one of them. You can't get close to her, it's a lie, it's a trick.

"I'm sorry. I- I didn't-" Isabel mumbled as she stepped out of the car and walked closer to him. She turned and looked down at the damages to their cars. She looked around briefly and waved her hand over the cars.

"Guess, we won't have to report this to the insurance company," Kyle joked trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Isabel agreed softly as she tried to wipe away her tears.

Kyle turned to her, his heart aching. He pulled her into his arms and felt a twinge of electricity run through him as her feelings poured into him.

Grief, sorrow, denial.

Alex.

Kyle gasped and Isabel looked into his eyes slightly confused. "What just happened?" She asked as he pulled away breaking the connection. "How did you do that?"

Kyle looked away. His mind raced. He looked briefly at his hands, "it's not happened like this before." He mumbled to himself.

"What?" She asked feeling her tears lessen.

"You're upset, you must be projecting your feelings." Kyle replied quickly.

"I-" She muttered guessing that he could be true. Her thoughts drifted back to Alex and she started to cry even more.

"Izzy," Kyle said softly feeling his own hatred and anger towards them dissolve.

He wrapped his arms around her and escorted her back to his car. Safely within the backset of the car, he rocked her and let her cry. "Tell me about him."

She looked up at him as nodded. "I loved him. I needed him. He loved me. I-" she moaned. "I killed him!"

"Oh, Izzy." Kyle whispered as he continued to feel every thought and feeling she had. "It wasn't your fault. We didn't know, we didn't realize that she-"

"He's gone, he's really gone," she cried as she buried her head into chest.

"Yes, but he is in our hearts." Kyle whispered as he rubbed her back gently. He kissed the top of her head. "You need to move on."

"I don't know if I can," she hiccupped and he wiped her tears away.

"I've missed the old Isabel," Kyle laughed. "We had fun."

"Yeah, we did," she whispered.

"You need to get back into the game." Kyle suggested as a flicker of recognition flashed through her eyes.

"The game," she repeated as a smile crossed her face.

"Alex, would want you to live your life."

Isabel nodded, "I will try, will you help me?"

"Of course," Kyle smirked.

"No more brooding? No more avoiding the aliens?" She asked softly.

Kyle stiffened, "if you try, I'll try as well."

Isabel smiled, "deal."

~

Max and Liz walked through the door of the Crashdown and sat down in one of the empty booths. The waitress quickly came to take their orders.

"What would you like, Liz?" The waitress asked.

"I think, we will have just have a plate of fries and two cherry colas, you want anything else Max?" Liz said.

"Nah, that's fine." Max answered.

"Okay," the waitress repeated. "It will be up in a few minutes."

"Thanks," Liz replied as the waitress walked away to the kitchen.

Max and Liz sat in silence as they waited for their order.

"Thanks," Liz stated as the waitress brought them their fries.

"Enjoy your fries," the waitress replied and walked away again.

Liz picked up a fry and took a bite of it.

"You want to tell me what’s wrong?" Max asked as he noticed the sad look on her face.

"Nothing really wrong," Liz whispered.

"Are you sure?" Max asked again.

"Nah, it’s just that Maria is so worked up about seeing her grandmother’s lawyer. She got this letter from him saying that she was mentioned in the will." Liz explained as she took another bite of a fry.

"Yeah, Michael said something about that. He was taking her to the reading of the will," Max replied as he nodded his head.

"Maria told me that too, about Michael driving her." Liz said as she picked up another fry and took bite of it.

"So, why are you upset about this?" Max inquired.

"I’m not upset."

"Really?" Max questioned as he looked at her with a stern look on his face.

Why is he looking at me so sternly, should I tell him what’s bothering me?

If I just keep looking at her like this for a minute or so more, she will cave in,

Okay, he got me, I can’t stand that look on his face."Okay!" Liz cried.

"Okay, what?" Max asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"I’m a little upset that Michael is taking Maria to the reading of the will and that she didn’t want me to come with her." Liz explained as she looked down at the plate and played with the fries.

Max looks at Liz, confused.

"Well, it’s that, Maria and I are drifting apart from each other. I don’t want to loose her friendship," Liz whispered

"I don’t think you will," Max replied softly.

"I’m not so sure about that, it’s just nagging me. I really hate it. We were so close and now we are drifting apart. I blame myself, I haven’t been exactly the best friend to her this last year," Liz groaned.

"I don’t think you should worry to much about it. Maybe you should talk to Maria and tell her how you feel. I mean, you both have had a rough time this past year." Max encouraged

"Yeah, you are probably right" Liz said

The two of them talked some more about Liz and Maria’s friendship for a few more minutes.

"Can you imagine Michael sitting still in the lawyers office for several hours? I think it will take all his will power," Max commented after a short pause. Both of them started to laugh at the image.

~

Michael glanced around the waiting area of the attorney’s office, they were alone except for the receptionist sitting at her desk by the front door. Maria was nervously playing with the zipper on her purse and it was driving him crazy.

He grabbed her hand when she started whipping the zipper back and forth again, "Stop. You’ll break it."

Maria glared at him, and whispered so that the receptionist couldn’t hear her, "I'm nervous."

"Really? Couldn't tell."

"Ugh, why did I bring you here?" She sat back in her chair and shook her head.

"Good question."

"Oh, that’s right, I remember. I wanted some support. Silly me."

Michael groaned and turned to her, "I am supporting, but your mom should be here. Not me."

Maria gave him an icy look. They’d already had this conversation twice.

"Miss Deluca?" queried a man in a business suit who was standing in the doorway to what looked like a large office. "I'm Sam Brown, would you please come into my office?"

Maria stood and shook the hand the man offered. She could feel Michael following behind her, and was comforted when he put his hand on the small of her back.

"This is…" she turned to gesture at her boyfriend, “Michael.”

Mr. Brown offered his hand to Michael, and Michael shook it saying, "Guerin."

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Guerin,” the attorney closed the door behind them and gestured at two chairs positioned in front of a large desk, "please have a seat."

"Thank you," Maria said trying to keep her voice even as she sat down next to Michael.

Mr. Brown smiled kindly at her, apparently sensing her nervousness, "This should be relatively simple, there's nothing to worry about."

Maria smiled at him, "Ok."

They listened while Mr. Brown outlined the nature of her Grandmother’s will and trust. The rest of her grandmother’s family had heard a reading in Texas, but her grandmother had requested that Maria also hear the details of the document. Michael took her hand as they listened.

~

"Maria?"

Maria closed the door behind her and rolled her eyes before turning to look at her mother. "Yeah, mom, it's just me."

Amy smiled and walked over towards her daughter. "Well? How'd it go?"

Maria nodded her head as she replied. "Yeah, okay. We got things sorted out. Listen, I'm really tired, so I'm just going to go off to bed, ok?" Maria walked towards the stairs quickly in an attempt to avoid having to have a long drawn out conversation with her mother.

"Actually, Maria. I really want to talk to you...please." Amy said as she reached and put a hand on her daughters arm. "Please."

Maria sighed, "fine." She walked over to the couch and sat down.

"I want to talk to you about what happened with your grandma..."

"I think we know what happened, she had been writing to me, you hid the letter, I found it, I went to her and she died, end of story. You know, I don't think you can fill in any more details to that, do you?"

"Damn it, Maria! If you want to act like a spoiled child and sulk about this other than talk about then go on. Go to your room and blame me for being a bad mother! Go on, don't give a damn about any reasons I might have as long as you have your own preconceived notions that you don't want shifted!"

Amy fumed as she walked quickly from the living room to the kitchen leaving a shell shocked Maria sitting alone. She looked up and towards her mom who was leaning against the wall with a hand over her eyes and Maria felt a slight stab of guilt. Despite the thoughts that invaded her head, Maria, sighed and got out the chair and walked slowly towards the kitchen.

"Mom? I'm...I'm sorry. I was acting like a kid, I'm sorry..."

Maria stood at the door awkwardly for a minute before Amy looked at her and smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry too..."

Maria walked over to the table and sat down at one of the chairs. "So? You said you wanted to talk?"

"Yes," Amy sighed. "I had this planned out so perfectly, now I don't know where to begin." Amy said as she smiled nervously.

Maria looked at her mom intently as she spoke. "Okay, why don't you start with why you kept her letter from me? Because, I don't know how you could have a good excuse for that? How could you keep her from me?"

"I was frightened I would lose you..."

Maria looked at her mom and shook her head gently. "That's not enough, you know that you would never lose me, you know that I love you more than anything. I don't believe you, of all people, would feel insecure about an old woman."

Amy shook her head as she continued. "I wasn't worried about your grandma, I was worried in case your father was there."

Maria suppressed the desire to laugh gently. "Mom, why would you be worried about him? He left us, he left me... he probably hadn't even been in contact with his mom, I don't think he would have shown up. And even if he did, do you think I would have given a damn about anything he had to say?"

Amy stood up and looked agitated as she continued. "You don't remember how he was, my mom used to say he could charm the stars out of the sky if he wanted to. And, he had charmed you from the minute you were old enough to know anything. You must remember how you adored him? You were the ultimate daddy's girl and he could do no wrong." Amy sighed and looked at her daughter. "He could have been there and gave you a few lines and then you would have been that little girl all over again. I couldn't risk losing you, I couldn't risk him hurting you again. It took too long to heal you last time... I wasn't going to let him re-open the old wounds."

Maria looked up and shook her head. "And that's why you kept a letter from a dying old woman? To protect me in the off chance that the man who used to be my father would have shown up?"

Amy nodded her head as she sat back down and looked at Maria, her eyes were filled with tears and she nodded her head as she reached for Maria's hand. "I just thought...I just thought that you wouldn't have to know..."

"You thought that if you buried your head in the sand it would go away?"

Amy sighed as she stood up again and walked towards the window. "I hoped it would go away. But...I was going to tell you, eventually. That's why I kept the letter. I just couldn't do it, especially after everything that had happened. You had been so happy in the summer, I didn't want to have to see you hurt again. But, if I had known I would lose you because of it-"

"Mom, you haven't lost me. You'll never lose me...and definitely not over a stupid letter..."

Amy looked at her and smiled hopefully as she spoke. "I have missed you so much, Maria and it's just been killing me to think that you hated me."

Maria stood up from the seat and walked over to her mom. For such an intelligent and strong woman, her mom was pretty dense. "I don't think I could ever hate you, I hated what you did, but I know you've hated things that I've did in the past as well, but I couldn't hate you. I love you mom." She lifted a hand to wipe a tear away from her face as she continued.

As Maria finished talking Amy wiped her own tears away and the two women hugged tightly for a moment before Maria pulled away and began to laugh as she wiped her eyes.

“Tell me what happened at the lawyers today," Amy inquired changing the subject.

Maria nodded her head. "It went well. Grandma left me a painting. Which reminds me, you have to fill out a few papers, since I'm a minor. I have already made arrangements to have it delivered to Michael’s."

"Michael's?" Amy laughed.

"What?" Maria gasped. "I think his place needs a little more of an artistic touch."

"I'm sure it does," Amy replied with a laugh. "It’s your painting, you can do what you want with it. I’ll go to the lawyers tomorrow."

"Thanks, mom," Maria whispered as Maria stood up and walked to the kitchen for a drink.


"I’ll get it," Amy called out as the doorbell rang.

"Mom? Who is it?" Maria asked as she noticed her mother was still at the front door. When Amy gave no reply Maria looked at her and walked cautiously to the door. Dear God, please, please, please, don't let anything be wrong. Please, don't let anything have happened! As Maria stopped at the door she turned slowly towards the figure and saw a middle-aged looking man standing smiling back at her. Maria immediately took a step back as she looked on in shock as the man looked at her with a warm smile.

"Now that's really no way for you two ladies to treat a guest is it? Isn't one of you going to invite me in?"

Maria looked at the man with her eyes widened. She couldn't believe this was happening, she didn't know what she should do. She didn't know what she could do. She backed up a little more as the man smiled at her hopefully. "You do remember me, don't you?"

Maria nodded her head weakly as she felt the room begin to spin as she tried to take everything in. She had rehearsed this moment a thousand and one times but she couldn't think of what she was supposed to do. So she looked at him and tried to talk, but could only manage to squeeze one word out quietly. "D...daddy?"

The man smiled and nodded his head as he looked at her. "I'm back 'Ria. I'm really back..."

~

Darkness cloaked the bus as it came to a stop. The only passenger to get off the bus looked around at her surroundings.

The familiarity welcomed her and the darkness called to her. She shuddered as a cool breeze brushed against her skin.

"Welcome home, Tess," she whispered to herself. "Look at all the people here to welcome you." She added sarcastically as the bus left her alone at the station.

She wrapped her arms around her torso and quickly walked to the restroom, suddenly feeling exposed. Safe and alone in the bathroom she sighed with relief.

Tess looked at herself in the mirror and studied her reflection. She looked and felt dead.

Tess' expression soured as she scraped her blonde curls high up on her head and pulled on a cap. With a wave of her hand, she added a little color to her face.

She closed her eyes as Nicholas's words rang through her head, Max could save Liz, but wouldn't save the life of his own child... he was probably looking for an excuse to get rid of you... you were excess baggage.... it wasn't love.... you were the rebound girl, the tramp ready to comfort him... he used you and laughed about it... Michael wasn't exactly overly warm with you, and Isabel was more interested in you when she thought you were human... they didn't give a damn what happened to you... they killed your child, through months of neglect and apathy, they may as well have stuck a knife in your abdomen, because they certainly stuck it in your back...

She blinked back tears as she repeated his words over and over again. She ran a hand over her abdomen and clenched her fist to stop herself from crying. "I'm not going to let them hurt me anymore."

Tess reached into her bag and pulled out the one picture she had of them, of all of them. Her prom picture.

"You were right," she laughed bitterly. "They were never my friends." She mumbled as she touched Max's and Liz's face and burnt a hole into the glossy picture. She moved over to Isabel and then Michael and did the same.

Her hand hovered over Kyle's face. She bit her lip slightly as she touched his image gently. A slight blush crept over her cheeks and she smiled as she put the picture back into her bag.

Tess walked out of the bathroom with determination and headed for the nearest Motel.
 

End Episode 6

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