Maria rubbed her teary eyes and wrapped her arms around her chest. "The doctor says she has severe rectum tears and lacerations. She lost a lot of blood but they say that with time she'll heal. Physically, at least. Mentally and emotionally, who knows?" "Which room is she in?" Max asked, having to swallow down the bile that had risen in his throat. "317 but wait Max, you can't go in there. Your parents are in there along with Sheriff Valenti."

"What's the Sheriff doing here?" Liz asked. Maria shrugged but the worry was evident in her eyes. "He's hear to take a statement from Isabel. Someone must have called him. Is Kyle...I mean, he's alive right?"

Max sighed but the anger was still evident in his voice. "No, I didn't kill him, Maria. I beat that son of a bitch unconscious, though, and would have killed him if they hadn't stopped me. Why? I mean, I knew he was a bastard but why would he rape her?"

"Max, he's not a nice guy. He has done this kind of thing before." Maria saw Max's face twist in outrage so she amended her last statement. "Wait, Max. Listen. He hasn't raped her, really. We'll yes he has. I'm not saying this right. Look, she told me that he has done things to her, sexually, that she hasn't liked and when she told him to stop, he wouldn't listen."

"Sounds like rape to me," Alex said bitterly, his every thought on that precious angel in the emergency room. "Why didn't she break up with him?" Maria looked over in surprise. She has almost forgotten he was there.

She thought about that for a second and answered as truthfully as she knew how. "Why have I dated only football players who were interested in my chest size? Why do I make fun of others who aren't popular or cool?" She looked Michael straight in the eye. "Why have I always hid it from my friends that for as long as I could remembered, I've been in love with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks?" She swallowed and transferred her gaze back to Alex. "It's because I'm scared of alienation. I'm scared that my quote-unquote friends won't accept me anymore if I have an original thought or feeling of my own, so I hide behind the facade of the typical popular, snobby bitch. I think...no, I know that Isabel feels the same way. She dates Kyle because he's Mr. Big Football Star and she's head cheerleader and it's what is expected. I actually got the feeling that she was going to break up with him tonight though. Maybe that's why he did it. Who knows? All I know is that I'm sick to death of pretending to be someone I'm not." She snorted bitterly and stared at the ground. "They can all bite me. If being popular means being associated with the likes of Kyle or Mark or Lisa, then I give it all up. Starting right now, I'm going to do things for my own reasons. I'm going to do what I want to do, say what I want to say, and date who I want to date. And if they don't like it, they can all go to hell."

"Good for you, Maria," Liz said, squeezing the girl's hand.

"Oh, Max!" They heard a voice cry in relief. They looked down the hall and saw Diane Evans coming down the hallway with her arms outstretched. Max walked towards his mother and briefly embraced her. Then he pulled back and asked how his sister was doing.

His mother shrugged and nodded. "She's okay. She's sleeping right now. They took some blood from her and they did a scrape of her rectum so they can make there is no infection but for the most part, they say she is going to be fine. They said that she has to stay overnight and if she is okay in the morning, they'll let her come home. Visiting hours are over and the doctor said no one can see her until the morning. I'm going to stay overnight but I think it's best if you go home with your father."

"No, I'm staying," Max said firmly. He was worried about something his mother had just told him. Isabel had been in and out of consciousness since the incident happened so he didn't know if she altered her blood before she blacked out. He had to find her samples and change them to make sure. To the others, he said, "Why don't you go home. I'll call if there are any updates."

Reluctantly, everyone nodded and Liz said, "Are you sure?"

Max nodded. "Yes, there's no reason for all of us to just hang out here." He wrapped her in his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, Liz. For stopping me from killing Kyle. I'll be fine and I promise to call you tomorrow."

She nodded and smiled. "You better," she teased and her voice grew serious again. "Send Isabel my love."

"I will. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Max," she said, and then pulled away. "Come on, let's go," she said to the others and led them towards the exit.

When they got to the parking lot, Michael handed Alex his keys and said he was going to catch a ride with Maria. Maria was a little stunned by this but she just nodded and the two walked the other way to where her car was parked.

Alex and Liz walked to the far end of the parking lot where the truck was parked and they both crawled in. Alex started the truck and put it in drive when Liz's voice distracted him from his grim thoughts. "Oh no! Ihave to run back inside, Alex. I forgot to give Max back his keys. He asked me to put them in my purse. It will only take a couple of minutes."

Alex nodded but then said, "Wait. I'll go with you."

They walked back into the hospital and found that only Mrs. Evans was sitting in the lobby. Liz said, "Um, do you know where Max went? I have to give him something."

The woman smiled at Liz and nodded. "Yes, he said he was going to the cafeteria to get us some drinks. It's that way." She pointed to the hallway on her left and Liz smiled and thanked the woman. "I'll be right back," she told Alex, but he didn't really hear her. He was too busy frowning at the tiled floor.

Mrs. Evans stood up and walked over to the nurses station and Alex watched her go. Then, he slowly walked towards the door of Isabel's room. He looked down the wings to check and see if anyone was coming and when he was sure that the coast was clear, he slipped inside.

He felt a pain in his chest when he saw Isabel. The entire left side of her face was purple and swollen. There was a gash across her lips and one of her arm was in a sling. There was a calm beeping noise inside the room which monitored her heartbeat and an I.V. was hooked up to her arm.

He stared at her for a little while, his anger boiling inside. *I'll kill him myself,* he though, his brain thinking up several ways to destroy Kyle for doing what he had done to Isabel. Slowly, he walked up to her to get a better look and he saw that her eyelashes were fluttering.

He delicately placed his hand on the crown of her head and lowered his face to hers. He placed the gentlest of kisses on her forehead and whispered, "I swear, I'll make him pay."

Then, he turned to go but turned around sharply when he heard her cry out. "No!" She was now sitting up and crying. On instinct, Alex ran to her and put his arms around her shaking form.

"Shh," he whispered as he rocked her lightly. "You're okay, Isabel. No one can hurt you, now. I wont let anyone ever hurt you again."

Isabel sobbed and collapsed against his chest, shuddering. "Alex? Oh God, my dream, it was so real."

He petted her hair and whispered, "Shhh. Don't think about it."

He held her for several more moments and then finally she pulled away but she didn't release his hand. "Thank you," she said and then, "Why are you here, Alex? Aren't visiting hours over?"

He nodded and then looked away. "Yes, but I had to check on you. I wanted to see for myself that you were okay."

The corner of Isabel's lips turned up lightly but she grimaced at the pain it caused. So instead, she squeezed his hand. She was extremely touched by his concern for her. She wondered why she had never truly seen it before? Alex was a wonderful guy. He was so caring and gentle.

"Alex, I have another reason to thank you. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I...." her voice trailed off when she saw the door to her room opening. The night nurse appeared and she didn't look happy to see Alex in the room.

"What are you doing in here? Visiting hours are over!" she yelled.

Alex stood up and muttered, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'll go now." He turned to leave but Isabel's voice stopped him once again.

"Alex?"

"Yes, Isabel?"

"Could you come back tomorrow? I'd like to talk to you."

Alex nodded and in a serious voice said, "Of course. Anything for you." And then he left.

Isabel watched him go and for once in that horrible night, her heart grew warm. Anything for you, he had said. And the way he said it, had blown her mind. She could tell he had really meant it.

*****

Liz frowned when she reached the cafeteria. Max wasn't in there. After one last scan of the room, she turned and walked back the way she had came.

She took only ten steps before she caught a glance of Max through a window. She stopped and smiled. Then she frowned. The door said 'Employees Only!'

She stepped in a little closer and watched what he was doing in bewilderment. He was frantically going through the viles of blood on one of the tables. When he found the one he was looking for, he pulled the top off and held his hand over it.

She watched as the blood turned white before her very eyes and then turned red again while a white mist floated into the air and soaked into his hand. Max put the lid back on the vile and put it back in the holder. Liz had only seen one other person do that before and that had been Michael when he had blood samples taken before a surgery once. Was Max an...?

Max turned to go, and Liz saw him notice her in the window. His eyes widened as his mouth fell open. She pulled the door open and stared at him for a moment before speaking. Her voice came out shocked.

"Max? I just...what were you doing? Who are you?"

*****

The ride home had been filled with tension. Maria refused to look at Michael as she drove. She had no idea how he felt about what she had said, and he hadn't said anything yet.

She pulled the car onto the dirt driveway of the trailer park and stopped in front of his trailer. She turned the engine off and started to play with the small alien that hung from her key-chain. He didn't move to go, but he didn't speak either. It was too much for her. "So," she said, still not looking at him.

"So," he replied. "Um, Maria. About what you said earlier..."

She heard a touch of uncomfortableness in his voice and she knew he didn't like her like that. Her words flew out of her mouth in a rush. "Look, Michael. Forget what I said. I was just a little over-emotional and I said some things that I shouldn't have. I..."

"I love you, too," Michael cut her off, looking her in the eye.

Maria was shocked. She was sure she hadn't heard him right. "What?" she asked meekly and she could hear the hope in her voice.

Michael scooted in a little closer to her and brought a hand up to caress her cheek. "Maria, I love you."

"Really?"

Michael nodded and sighed. "I have admired you from afar from a long time but I thought that you were too good for me, so I didn't pursue it. But after what you said this evening, I knew I had to tell you."

Maria reached one hand up and touched the back of his hand which was caressing her face. She pulled it back lightly and kissed his palm. "You have been the only guy I have ever loved or wanted Michael. I was just too scared to admit it to myself. Now, I'm ready to tell the world."

Michael nodded, smiling a bit and then he slowly inched his head forward. She saw what he had in mind so she did the same. They heads met halfway and very lightly, his lips fluttered against hers. She felt fire run through her, down to her painted toes. It was barely a kiss but no other kiss she had ever had, had felt this amazing, this right. She parted her mouth and lightly sucked on his lower lip. Then she pulled back and looked into his eyes.

The look of longing and love she saw there did her in. She moved to touch his lips again and deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled frantically and her whole body felt like it was going to combust. A wave of sensation rushed over her body and she felt like she was flying.